


The Naked Truth

by missingparentheses



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: College, Dorm Room Sexytimes, Fraternities & Sororities, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-25 10:03:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15638490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missingparentheses/pseuds/missingparentheses
Summary: After a night of drinking at a frat party, Rhett and Link wake up naked in bed together with no memory of what happened the night before. They set out to piece together the details of the night and see if they can find out what happened, how they feel about it, and if they want it to happen again.





	1. The Question

When Link first opened his eyes, bleary and throbbing with a dull headache, his first sight was bed springs. It was enough to confuse him and keep him momentarily distracted from the more obvious anomaly: he was crowded against the edge of the mattress by the long, sweaty body of his sleeping best friend.

The moment the realization hit him, Link’s body went rigid with alarm. He slammed his eyes shut and took stock of what he knew. First, he was in Rhett’s bottom bunk. Second, he’d been sleeping there, presumably all night. Third, his whole body screamed hangover. Fourth... _ oh, shit. _

He was naked.

They were both naked.

Link was trapped against the wall with no way to escape without waking Rhett. He certainly wasn’t going to climb over his body, nude as the day he was born, and risk Rhett’s first sight being Link’s crotch as he stepped over him. He contemplated just nudging him awake, laughing about their predicament, but he wasn’t sure exactly what the predicament even was. Why was he here? And why the hell were they naked?

Link kept his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to remember the night before. They’d been invited to a party at one of the local frat houses. They weren’t interested in rushing, but this was the college experience, and when two freshmen are invited to a party, they go. So they’d gone, single and ready to mingle. Link had recently been dumped by his girlfriend back home, and he was eager to find someone new, as was Rhett. There had been some beer pong. After that, everything was blank.

Rhett shifted beside him and exhaled, and Link resisted the urge to cringe at the smell of his breath. Then a long, hairy leg stretched out and rubbed up against Link’s, and he froze again. 

“Mmph,” Rhett garbled as his brain clawed its way to consciousness. “Uh...Link?”

Link didn’t know what to do, so he feigned sleep as best he could despite the tension in his muscles and the pounding in his chest. Then he felt Rhett scrambling out of bed, dragging the top blanket along with him and wrapping it around his waist. It would have been impossible for Link to convince anyone he’d slept through the commotion, but thankfully within a minute, Rhett was scurrying out of the room. 

When Link had heard the door click shut behind him, he glanced up to see that Rhett’s shower caddy had vanished from its place on the shelf, and the blanket was piled in the middle of the room, presumably replaced on Rhett’s body by a bath towel. Relieved, he climbed out of the bed and glanced around the room.

The clothes he’d worn to the party were nowhere in sight. He peeked into his laundry basket only to confirm the same. Moving to his dresser, he tried to unearth memories from the night before. He did have a vague memory of losing clothing, and although he wasn’t confident where or when this happened, he remembered Rhett’s eyes on him. Intensely.

As Link pulled on the last of his clothing, a bubble of panic began to swell in his chest. Rhett would be back from the shower soon, and Link wasn’t ready to face him. He didn’t know what to say, how to look him in the eye. At least not until he had more answers. He needed time to think, and he couldn’t do that while staring down the memory of his best friend’s naked body pressed against his. 

He slipped on his shoes and headed out the door.

***

For the first time since the school year began, Rhett didn’t grumble at the insufficient height of the showerhead in the dorm bathroom. He had other things on his mind. He dipped down to wet his hair before rubbing in a glob of shampoo, but as he scrubbed the coarse, blonde hair, his attention wandered to the state he’d woken up in.

There had to be a logical explanation. As he used the suds from his hair to wash the rest of his body, he struggled to wrangle any hints from his subconscious. He remembered drinking; that was no surprise. There were strangers, some friendlier than others. He remembered cheers, more drinking. He remembered watching the way some pretty girl hung on his best friend, and complicated feelings. Nudity. Who was naked? Was it just him? Just the two of them? Was anyone else involved?

When Rhett felt his body stirring, he knew he had to get out of there. He shook out his hair roughly, splattering the tiled walls, and turned the knob to stop the flow. His towel hung on a hook outside the curtain, and as he wrapped it around his waist, it occurred to him that he would have to face Link once he returned to their room. He had run out so quickly he hadn’t even taken the time to make eye contact, to even see if Link was awake and aware of their situation. What was he supposed to say to him? And was he supposed to do it wearing nothing but a towel?

As he brushed his teeth, he rehearsed words in his mind.  _ Hey, man, about last night… _ No, too cliché.  _ Gosh, we must have really been drinking to— _ No, that was almost a confirmation that he believed something had happened between them. He couldn’t be sure, not yet. But was there any other explanation?

With a huff of defeat, Rhett rechecked the security of the wrap of his towel, picked up his toiletry basket, and headed back for the room. He could feel in the hunch of his shoulders that he was cowering, so he forced himself to straighten his spine and walk with feigned confidence. Before he pushed open the door, he cleared his throat and decided he would just shoot from the hip. After all, he and Link had never had anything to hide. He’d play off of his friend’s mood and see where the conversation went. How bad it could it be?

When the door swung open, Rhett marched to his dresser, on top of which he kept his shower caddy, and set it down casually. Then he began to pull out clean clothes and slip them on with his back to the room, trying not to think too hard about whether Link was watching him or who would speak first. He went about his business as if nothing were out of the ordinary, and when he was dressed, he steeled himself and turned around.

Link was nowhere to be seen.

***

The sun was hot. The school year had newly begun, and fall had not fully taken hold just yet, particularly in this part of the country. Between the bright sun heating his dark hair and the humidity constricting his lungs, Link could feel his hangover in full force. So despite the migraine and the nausea that made it sound anything but appetizing, he headed for the mess hall.

His go-to was peanut butter toast and bacon, but he felt he needed something more, so he added hashbrows, sausage, and a mug of black coffee to the mix. Hunching over his plate, Link barely registered the sudden, raucous laughter from the group at the next table. He focused on getting the plate of greasy food down until he realized the repeated “Hey!” he was hearing was directed at him. Link looked up as the group stood to their feet, clearing their trays as they walked toward him. The apparent leader, a jock by all stereotypes, clapped him on the shoulder as they passed by, the others laughing.

“Quite a show you put on last night, man! Bet you’re feelin’ it today!”

Link squinted and turned to follow the group with his eyes as they continued on toward the tray drop-off. He opened his mouth to call back a reply, to ask what he meant, but they’d moved on, both figuratively and literally, before he could formulate the words.

 

When he’d finished his breakfast, Link wandered out of the cafeteria to the courtyard outside the main doors. The area was interspersed with lush trees that offered shade and benches situated both in and out of the shady areas. Link located a shady patch beneath one of the trees across the yard where fewer students were congregated, and he headed off that way at a steady pace, hoping to snag the spot before anyone else did. When he’d made it halfway across the courtyard, something caught the corner of his eye.

A pretty brunette sat at a bench beneath one of the largest trees, laughing with a group of friends. He remembered her immediately. While he didn’t remember at what point they had parted ways, Link knew he had been introduced to her when he was still sober, and at the very least, that part of his memory was sharp. She could be the key to helping him find the missing clues to the previous evening. 

He had changed course, headed straight in her direction, when she noticed him. Link smiled and lifted a hand to offer a shy wave, but the corners of her mouth turned down and her eyes narrowed.

“What the hell do you want?” she spat when he was within ten feet of her.

“Natalie, right?”

“You can’t even be sure about my name? That figures.”

“Can I just ask you something? I’m sorry, I—”

“Don’t bother.”

Link stopped in his tracks when she locked eyes with her friends, the unspoken signal given. They rose and moved as a pack out of the shade, but not before Natalie called back over her shoulder.

“Hope you had fun with your friend! Guess I was barking up the wrong tree!”

The group laughed as they disappeared from sight. Link slid onto the shady bench she had abandoned and let his head fall into his hands. Something had to have happened between him and Rhett. There was no way around it. And since he couldn’t go the rest of his life avoiding him, there was only one way to handle it. He had to face him.


	2. Memory

Rhett had been reading the same sentence over and over for God-only-knew how long, but his distraction wasn’t improved by Link’s return to the dorm room. Rhett didn’t look up, but his mind was attuned to the sounds Link made in the room. He heard him slip his shoes off beside the door, setting them up neatly and in stark contrast to the way Rhett’s had been kicked off in the same general vicinity. He anticipated the next sound to be the creak of Link falling onto his back on Rhett’s bunk, arms flung over his head, one knee bent and the other sprawled over the edge of the mattress. But instead there was silence, and Rhett knew Link was reconsidering his usual pattern. He could feel the other man’s tension behind him as Link looked for the next best place to sprawl. He settled for flopping into his desk chair, though they both knew it wasn’t going to offer the comfort he was looking for.

With his eyes in his textbook, Rhett fixated his other senses on Link’s clues. They still hadn’t spoken a word to each other since they climbed out of the bottom bunk that morning. Link pivoted the chair on a tight swivel, creaking back and forth only a few degrees in each direction, and his right foot bounced on the floor. Rhett wondered if they would die there or live in suspended limbo for the rest of time, waiting for someone to speak first. Finally Link took the plunge.

“Man, I’m hungover. Are you hungover? I don’t even remember coming home last night.”

Rhett cleared his throat. “Yeah, man. Me neither.”

“Did you eat anything?”

“I microwaved a couple Big Macs, helped a little.”

The silence resurfaced, punctuated only by the creak of Link’s chair. Rhett tried again to study but still found himself stuck on the same sentence, reading and re-reading it without comprehension.

“Whatcha studyin’?” Link interrupted. 

“Oh, uh…” Rhett flipped the book to the front cover when he found he couldn’t even remember. “Trig.” He rubbed the space between his eyebrows with the heel of his hand, hoping to press away the dull headache lingering there. “But my brain ain’t workin’ today.”

Link huffed a laugh under his breath. “Me neither. I ain’t even gonna try.”

Rhett lifted his gaze to watch his friend out of the corner of his eye. Link ceased the motion of his chair and instead expended his energy through his foot bouncing on the floor, plunging the room into an even thicker silence. To busy his hands, Link began to pick at his fingernails, and as Rhett watched, he considered whether he could force memories of the previous night to surface.

With an effort at dispassion, Rhett pictured those hands in his. No, it wouldn’t have been so tender, not in a drunken haze. It would have been needy, rushed and self-conscious. He waited—even tried to conjure—some semblance of repulsion at the thought, but it didn’t come. Instead he pictured eager hands on his body, Link’s usual tremor lost to the relaxing qualities of alcohol. 

It wouldn’t have been hands alone either, no. He studied Link’s lips as they chewed on his fingernails, trying to envision what those lips would have felt like on his skin. Soft and warm and confident, tongue dipping out to taste him.

Rhett knew himself too well to think he would have been a passive lover, and certainly not with someone he was as comfortable with as he was Link. He would have matched Link’s eagerness, pinned his hands over his head, dragged his teeth from jaw to sternum and let his tongue finish the journey downward. 

Link was staring. Rhett realized it with a start and let his textbook slide from the desk to his lap with a soft thud, wincing at the discomfort of the heavy book jarring his erection. 

“I gotta pee,” Rhett mumbled, and he spun his chair away from Link before returning the book to the desk. He was careful to keep his body angled away from him as he strode to the door and slipped out into the hall, and in his hurry, he almost collided with a sophomore from a few doors down.

“What the hell, man?” Rhett snapped at him, and Dylan scoffed. He looked Rhett up and down, his eyes stopping at Rhett’s fading but still visible erection, and laughed under his breath. Despite being nearly a foot shorter than Rhett, he didn’t appear intimidated in the least. He smacked Rhett on the shoulder and shuffled around him.

“Go take care of yourself, man. You’re makin’ a scene.”

Rhett’s whole body flushed, but he hurried away, continuing on his path to the bathroom as Dylan strolled off in the other direction.

 

With the bathroom stall door locked behind him, Rhett sat, fighting to regain control of his body. It didn’t make any sense. He had never before had feelings for Link, not really. It was one thing to objectively appreciate the look of him as a point of fact. And it wasn’t as if he’d never had a passing thought, a speculation about what things would be like in a universe wherein their affection for each other had ventured beyond friendship and brotherhood. 

But it wasn’t as if he  _ felt  _ something for Link. He loved him like his own family, and perhaps in an even deeper way, as he could be himself more wholly and honestly than he could with his parents and brother. But this was something different, discordant and grating on his sensibilities. Link belonged in one category in his brain, never mind the fact that that category was vast and prominent. Rhett knew Link was central to himself. But Link was not his lover. He never had been, and he never would be.

But if that were true, why was the image suddenly so sharp in his mind? Even if he had tried, briefly and at rare occasions in the past, to imagine what he and Link would have been like together, the scene was always distant and obscure, and never tempting to dwell on. Not like now. Now he could see it as clear as memory.  _ Memory. _ The gravity of the word gripped Rhett’s chest like an iron fist, and he fought to fill his lungs with oxygen, calming his nerves enough to move forward in his thinking.

The only question that remained, then, was how did he feel about it? Did he regret it? Did he want it to happen again? Because it was one thing to know something had happened and quite another to make the deliberate, sober choice to repeat it.

Before Rhett could answer the question for himself, the thought occurred to him that he was only half of the equation. Even if he was sure that, yes, he did want it to happen again, he had no guarantee that Link felt the same. And the only way for him to ever have that question answered was for them to actually talk about it.

***

From the moment Rhett had scrambled out of their dorm room with the excuse of needing to pee, Link had had to forcibly talk himself out of bolting again. He didn’t even notice the way he was chewing his fingernail down to the nub until he felt a sting of pain, and he wiped the finger off on his shirt, hopped to his feet, and began to pace.

They were better than this. No matter what had happened, it was no excuse for acting childish, not after everything they’d been through. Refusing to let himself think about it too hard, Link barrelled out the door and made for the bathroom, but once outside the door, he stopped. He listened through the door, sure Rhett was going to crack him with it and break his nose if he stayed there too long, but he found he didn’t know what he planned to say when he saw him. 

He tried whispering a practice speech under his breath.  _ “Hey man, I just thought we should talk.”  _ No. Lame.  _ “Sorry to interrupt, I just had to pee too. Oh, by the way, remember when we woke up naked this morning?”  _ He rolled his eyes and backed up to the other side of the hallway, leaned against the wall with his eyes on the bathroom door, and began chewing on a new nail.

***

Rhett wasn’t surprised by the flood of dread that filled his body at the thought of talking with Link about this. They had been through so much in the more-than-ten years they’d been best friends, but this was uncharted territory. Would this be the thing that finally broke them? 

The idea of facing this head-on was terrifying, but it was just as likely, Rhett knew, that avoiding the subject forever could be the thing that drove them apart. With everything they’d weathered, shouldn’t they be able to get through this too, with the same approach at honesty and consideration that had kept them going strong for this long already?

With his mind made up, Rhett stood and barged out of the stall, washing his hands quickly as he formulated the words he was about to say.

***

Link was halfway back down the hall again. He had tried, repeatedly, to bring up the topic they’d been dancing around all morning, but every time he thought he was going to do it, he managed to chicken out. And every time that happened, he wondered to himself if it were possible that they could ignore it forever and let the whole thing blow over. 

They would be fine, of course. Over time they would forget there had ever been this unspoken tension between them. Maybe someday, when they were older and more mature, they would even talk about the question of that one forgotten night back in college. It was tempting to let the narrative play out.

But he had never kept anything from Rhett. Certainly not anything that mattered, and not much besides. 

He owed it to Rhett to man up and talk it through. But what would he even say? The fact was that he had no answers. What was there to say when they both said they didn’t remember anything? What was the point in getting all riled up over something when they didn’t even know what was at stake?

They only thing he could do now was get answers. Based on the interactions he’d had when he’d been out earlier in the day, there were people on campus who had been present at the party and whose memories of the night had not been lost within the haze of today’s hangovers. He’d find out everything he could, and when he returned, they would talk. They would face the choices they had made and would find a way to move forward.

As Link strode down the hall toward the stairwell, Rhett’s voice called out behind him.

“Link?”

Link turned, his fingers combing into his hair. “Oh, hey. I’m, uh… I got some things I gotta take care of. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Rhett swallowed, hands hanging limp at his sides. “Yeah. Okay, man. See ya.”

And then, once again, he was gone.


	3. Evidence

The frat house was hard to miss. As Link approached, he couldn’t help but let his eyes wander across the yard. Amidst the red plastic cups usually found in the clutter following a party of this type, there was a sea of plastic flamingos, many of them trampled, along with some sort of dried, colorful residue and miscellaneous items of neon-colored clothing and accessories.

Just before stepping onto the front steps, Link glimpsed from the corner of his eye a bright green top hat that caused him to pause. It looked an awful lot like the one he had worn to the party, one of the many items he hadn’t seen since he’d woken up this morning. He considered picking it up, but he supposed he couldn’t be sure it was his. Besides, he wasn’t likely to wear it again anyway.

After knocking lightly on the front door, Link entered upon hearing a muffled _“Come in!”_ from inside. The entrance led straight into a spacious living room, one that looked vastly different in the light of day and without scads of colorfully-dressed party-goers filling out every corner. One long couch was home to a sleeping young man while another housed two young women reclining against each other with textbooks in their laps. On the rug between the two couches, however, Link recognized the crouched frame of Terry, the house member who had invited Rhett and him to the party. He was reaching beneath the couch on which slept his fraternity brother, dragging cups and other debris out from beneath it to be gathered into the half-full trash bag slumped at his side.

“Uh, hey, Terry,” Link murmured, concerned about surprising him despite the fact that he had just knocked and been invited in. Terry glanced over his shoulder and nodded in acknowledgement before looking back to his project and speaking without eye contact.

“Hey, man. You have fun last night?”

Link cleared his throat. “I think so. I mean, I guess. I don’t remember it too well.”

Terry chuckled under his breath, dropped a few more bits of garbage into his bag, and straightened, wiping his hands on his pants. “I’ll bet.”

Link shrugged and followed Terry to the kitchen. Terry ignored him, focused on the task at hand, as Link tried to figure out how to ask questions about the night before without sounding ridiculous. Before he’d made up his mind, Terry spoke first.

“So, didja have breakfast with Natalie this morning or bug out before she woke up?”

Link froze, his mouth working soundlessly as he scrambled for a response that wouldn’t come. Terry glanced back over his shoulder at him again and laughed.

“Don’t tell me you even forgot _her_. You weren’t wasted yet when I sent you in her direction. Ain’tcha gonna give a guy details as a thank you?”

“I…” Link stammered, “I remember Natalie.”

Terry turned and leaned against the kitchen counter behind him. He waved his hand like a propeller, coaxing Link to continue. When he couldn’t get anything more than soundless gaping out of him, Terry rolled his eyes and turned back to clearing the countertop.

“Well,” he went on, his voice monotone and annoyed at being forced to tell his own side of the story, “last I saw, y’all were gettin’ pretty handsy. Looked well on your way. But, y’know, I had a girl of my own, couldn’t keep her hands off me, and by the time we’d had our own fun and I was done with her, y’all were nowhere in sight. Figured you’d left together. Don’t know what happened to yer friend, but he had a girl with him too, so…” He turned around and looked at Link. “Did y’all end up...like...together? The four of ya?” Link’s eyes went wide, and Terry’s palms came up in supplication. “Hey, I ain’t judgin’. This is the time for experimentation, right?”

“We didn’t—” Link squeaked out when he found his voice, “—I mean, I don’t…” He swallowed hard, rolled his shoulders back, and extended his hand in a stiff goodbye offering, and Terry chuckled under his breath before accepting the handshake.

“Whatever, man. Hope you get those memories back somehow, whatever they are. My guess is you had fun with _someone.”_

***

It was unlikely that Natalie would be in the same place Link had last seen her, but he wasn’t sure where else to look. With heavy grey clouds forming to the east, the courtyard was more empty than it had been earlier. Link sat on the same bench, his eyes scouring the faces of those who hurried past, rushing for shelter before the rains came.

He closed his eyes and tried to tune into the sensations in his body. He’d heard a guy say once that he could tell if he’d had sex the night before despite having been blackout drunk simply based on whether he could still feel the residual afterglow. Link doubted it; he’d never noticed a significant difference in how he felt the mornings after masturbating versus not. Not that there were many _not._ But then again, he’d never had sex—at least, not in his memory. For all he knew, the afterglow from sex was a whole different experience than simply beating off in the shower before bed.

So instead of trying and failing to conjure up concrete memories of the night before, Link sought to look deeper. He focused on the vibrations in his bloodstream, the cocktails of hormone and emotion swirling in his brain. But all he felt was confusion and frustration. In a huff, Link stood again and paced toward the library.

 

The rain was just beginning to fall as he reached the front steps, fat droplets pelting his hair. He hunched his shoulders against the onslaught and hurried inside.

Link found a quiet corner with a vacant table he was able to snag, to give himself a place to think and plot his next move. Suddenly conscious of how he looked sitting empty-handed at the table, he grabbed a book from the nearest shelf and flopped it open in front of him, not even trying to determine its subject. The words blurred in his sight as he made another half-hearted attempt at looking inward in the hopes that either memories or feelings would reveal some hidden truth.

“We fooled around _once,_ Sam.”

“It was more than fooling around and you know it.”

Link’s attention was dragged from the futile effort inward to the more intriguing conversation being held in hushed tones at the table behind him. He was in no mood to feel any contrition for the eavesdrop, so he focused on the blank space at the margin of his book so he could better listen.

“Do you even know how this works? A pity fuck is not a commitment. I’m not your girlfriend. You need to let it go.”

“I just don’t understand why you’re so scared of commitment,” came a man’s voice in quiet reply. “I’m a good guy, Alyssa. I don’t know why you think you’re gonna find something better.”

She scoffed. “You think you’re so great? You think you’re the best I can do? You really _are_ an asshole.”

“I guess I should be thankful. Maybe you couldn’t do better, but I sure could. Slut like you, feelin’ up the first guy you can get a few beers into.”

Link tensed but made a point not to react. The woman’s voice grew quieter but even more fierce.

“How _dare_ you call me a slut, you bastard.”

“Are you kidding me? You talkin’ about climbing that tall guy like a tree? You’d just met him! He was a stupid, drunk freshman, but you couldn’t stay away, couldja?”

Link heard a heavy sigh and the sound of pages being turned roughly. “Well, it don’t matter anyway, does it? He was clearly more into that friend of his than me.”

Without thinking, Link spun around in his chair. The pair looked up, and the woman’s eyes widened, then narrowed. She slammed her book shut and stormed away from the table, her long, blond hair trailing behind her.

In contrast to her reaction, a grin spread across the man’s face. He rounded the table, approaching Link and laying a palm on his shoulder.

“I suppose I should thank you, man.”

Link held his gaze but said nothing, jaw clenched.

“I hope you had fun, in any event,” he went on. “Hope that tall fucker treated you real nice.”

Link’s heart dropped into his stomach. He couldn’t find the words to shoot back before the blond stormed back to the table, punched Sam in the arm, and dragged him away.

***

It was becoming increasingly obvious to Rhett that Link didn’t want to talk about it. After he had scurried away just as Rhett had gathered his courage for the big conversation, Rhett spent the next hour whiling away his time. He gave up on his second attempt at studying and instead flipped on the tape player stuffed in the corner. Merle was usually a calming presence, but today he was like a pebble in Rhett’s shoe. Lionel, he knew, would be no better. Instead Rhett switched the boom box over to the radio and found the university’s station, the alternative rock a welcome change from he and Link’s usual fare.

He talked to his mom on the phone for a few minutes, and while she was thrilled to hear his voice, he quickly tired of her prodding him on what was really on his mind. He ended the call on a false pretense of having studying to do, something with which to busy his hands, and he set to work.

 

Rhett decided to make his bed, though he knew it was so strikingly out of character that Link would instantly notice and call him out on it, thus drawing their attention to the focal point of the mystery at hand. But he needed something to do. However, when he took hold of the top sheet and yanked it free of the clump it sat in at the center of the bed, a thought struck him. There may be evidence here.

A rush of adrenaline spiked through Rhett’s bloodstream as he peeled the covers back, unsure what he might find. If they had had sex, would they have had the forethought to use a condom? It seemed unlikely. Neither of them were pursuing an active sex life in general—intending instead to save themselves for marriage—and Rhett was confident that Link was no more likely to own a condom than he was himself. There was no way they were in the state to be buying any on the way home from the party, though it was plausible someone could have given them one along the way, whether or not they knew with what partner it would be used.

But, as he suspected, there were no condoms littering the bed. Rhett leaned down, his nose wrinkling as he inspected the sheets more closely. There were stains, yes, discolorations and crusty spots where fluid had dried. It was doubtlessly semen. But, Rhett thought as a blush crept up his neck, he’d jerked off in his bed far too many times since his last laundry day for the presence of dried come to be proof of anything incriminating. With a scoff of disgust, Rhett tore the sheets from the bed and left them in a pile on the floor, determined to do laundry before the day was over.

With a sigh, Rhett flopped down onto his bare mattress and rubbed his forehead. There had to be a clue here in this room. Sex was no small thing, especially one’s first time. He pressed his eyes closed and, once again, tried to imagine it, to put himself back into that scene, telling himself it served the purpose of retracing his steps, as if he’d lost his car keys instead of hours of time.

Rhett knew that even if he and Link had fooled around the night before, that didn’t mean it had to have been _sex,_ specifically of the intercourse variety. There were any number of ways they could have gotten each other off. A shiver ran through Rhett’s body, but he fought to stay focused and objective. He had to consider all the options, and sex had to be among them.

If they’d had sex, how might they have done it? Who would have been on top? Rhett chuckled under his breath at how quickly he knew the answer. Link hated being thought of as the more feminine of the two of them. He loved to be in charge—granted, they both did—but Link _needed_ it. And Rhett...well, he couldn’t pretend there wasn’t a part of him that was curious, and that curiosity could arguably be more prominent than the fear. It was no surprise that if Rhett were going to agree to have sex with any man in the world, Link would be his first choice. Not simply because he was his best friend, but because Link knew and cared for him better than just about anyone in the world. In many ways, Link knew him best of all. Rhett trusted him with his life.

Did he feel different, like he imagined you were supposed to feel after losing your virginity? If he had indeed been on the bottom, would he feel the effects in his body? He couldn’t imagine being unaffected by the physical strain regardless of how careful they might have been even under the best of circumstances. The fact that he hadn’t immediately noticed any residual soreness should have in itself been a clue that, at the very least, they hadn’t gone that far. But Rhett had to be sure. He wasn’t the son of a law professor for nothing; he needed to examine all the evidence.

With a deep, cleansing breath, Rhett reached behind his back and found the waistband of his pants. He allowed his hand to slip inside his underwear and drift down, his middle finger reaching ahead of the rest to glide into the cleft. Rhett’s eyelids fluttered, his breath catching in his throat when, just as his fingertip began to graze the tight ring of muscle, the door flew open.

His hand was back in his lap like a shot, a fresh surge of adrenaline sparking every nerve of his body as he met Link’s eyes.

“Rhett...we need to talk about what happened last night.”


	4. No-Man’s-Land

The first thing Link noticed after barging into their dorm room and announcing that they needed to talk was the flush on Rhett’s face.

The second thing he noticed was the obvious erection he was sporting.

Link’s eyes jumped from where they’d landed on Rhett’s pants back up to his face, eyes wide and shocked.

“Were you…” Link allowed a faint grin to play at the corner of his mouth. “Am I interrupting?”

Rhett’s “no” came incriminatingly fast, and Link threw his head back and laughed as he swung the door shut behind him.

“You sure?”

“Shut up, man. You wanted to talk?”

Link eyed the bare mattress Rhett sat on, noting the sheets piled on the floor at his feet, and opted to give him some space. He dragged his desk chair out of its place and angled it toward Rhett’s seat on the bed. Once he was settled, he nodded.

“We been avoidin’ each other.”

“I noticed.”

“This doesn’t have to be weird.”

“Doesn’t it?”

Link met his eyes. “Alright. Fine. You want to make it weird?”

“Not particularly.”

“Why’re you bein’ difficult, Rhett?”

Rhett pressed his lips together and exhaled. “Fine. You want to talk about last night. You said you don’t remember anything.”

“I don’t...I mean...I remember _some_ stuff.”

Rhett’s eyebrows shot up. “You do?”

“Well, like, the party. I remember goin’ to the party. I just don’t remember leavin’.”

“Oh.” Rhett stretched his long body out sideways on his bare mattress, propping his head up in his palm. Link looked like he had more to say, so Rhett kept quiet and waited.

“I went back to the frat house today, thought maybe I might run into someone that could tell me what happened after we...you know...blacked out.”

“Did you?”

Link shrugged. “I talked to Terry. He didn’t tell me much that I didn’t know, and he didn’t see us leave.”

Link picked at his fingernails, avoiding Rhett’s eyes. Finally Rhett grew impatient.

“What? Spit it out, dude.”

Link rolled his eyes. “What do _you_ remember?”

Rhett sighed and focused his attention on a repeating pattern on his mattress as he spoke. “We showed up, found Terry. He pawned you off on some girl.” Rhett swallowed hard and continued. “So he introduced me to some boring people. It was loud and crowded. I dunno; some girl was hangin’ all over me, tryin’ to get me drunk. I guess it must’ve worked. I remember a keg stand and then some beer pong. After that it’s kind of fuzzy. But I remember…”

Link coaxed him on when he trailed off. “What? Remember what?”

Rhett shrugged. “I dunno. Skin? That chick feelin’ me up? I don’t really know what happened there.”

“A blond, right?”

“You remember her?”

“A little. I saw her again today, at the library.”

Rhett sat upright. “Did you talk to her? What’d she say?”

Link’s face tightened at the memory, and Rhett noticed.

“What?”

Link sighed. “She was fightin’ with some guy. He called her a slut.”

Rhett felt his stomach drop. “Oh, shit.”

“You know what that’s about?”

“Link, I just told you what I remember. That’s all I got.”

“I ain’t accusin’ you of anything, dude.”

“Well, good.”

The new information didn’t help clear the murky waters. Rhett remembered the way the blond had pawed at him, but through the haze of his memory, the emotions he was able to uncover were not evident of eagerness. He remembered playing along, letting her believe he was unopposed to her attention, but his eyes had been on Link and Natalie. The question was, how far had he let things go simply to play at the competitive—and arguably jealous—motive he couldn’t deny he’d been operating under?

“You hungry?”

Link looked up. “Yeah.”

“Wanna go down to the caf?”

Link swallowed and nodded as he stood, straightening his shorts while searching the room for his shoes. He spotted his Birkenstocks and slid them on, his eyes carefully set on his task and avoiding Rhett’s gaze, though he could feel the man’s eyes on him. Link led the way out of the room without a word.

 

They were quiet on their walk over. The rain had stopped, and the air they breathed was cool and humid as they avoided puddles on the sidewalks. Rhett was conscious of the way they walked with more distance between them than usual. He was accustomed to how their shoulders brushed whenever they were near each other, and the lack felt cold and empty.

As they strode through the cafeteria’s entrance, a cluster of students spotted them and cheered, laughter peppering their celebration. The men ignored them, ducked their heads, and headed for the line.

They grabbed trays and slid them along the counter past tubs of pasta, chicken sandwiches, and some sort of stir-fry. They cringed on instinct when they heard a laugh behind them, and they barely turned to look as a firm hand clapped them each on the shoulder.

“Y’all look different with your clothes on! But I gotta say, it was an impressive show!”

Even with his back to his friend, Rhett could feel Link’s discomfort in the air around them. He felt a flush of humiliation and dread creep up his chest, his mind spinning at what that could _mean_ , what had they _done._ Link grabbed a chicken sandwich and stormed away, roughly pulling a bag of chips and a bottle of soda from a shelf and cooler near the register before getting in the final line to check out.

Rhett gripped his tray and studied Link from a distance, heart constricted. There had to be a way to solve this, to move things on from this ugly no-man’s-land between the two of them, between them and the truth. He saw the hunch of Link’s shoulders and the white-knuckled grip on his tray. But an angry throat clearing startled him from his thoughts.

“Move it, man! I ain’t got all day!”

Rhett grumbled under his breath but thought better than to engage. He rounded the corner and claimed a couple pieces of fried chicken, a handful of fries, and an apple before making his own place to the register, Link having already moved on to claim a place at a table.

Rhett sat across from him and began to eat. Link wasn’t usually the ferocious eater of the two of them, but today he was in rare form. Half his meal had been devoured in the short time between when he’d sat down and when Rhett had joined him, and it didn’t take long before the rest disappeared in its wake. Rhett tried to catch up, but Link was up from his seat, striding with purpose across the cafeteria to the tray return. Rhett watched him from the corner of his eye as he finished his meal. Link moved to a quiet corner of the room, half-obscured by a large, artificial potted tree, arms crossed over his chest and head tilted back to rest against the wall.

His eyes were closed when Rhett nudged him after returning his own tray. Without a word they slipped from the cafeteria, hoping they could escape any further notice by anyone who seemed to know more than they did.

As they walked in silence back to their dorm, Rhett ruminated on the irony of them deliberately avoiding the only people with answers. Were they so afraid to face the reality of what might have happened—or at least as much as others were witness to—that they couldn’t bear to swallow their pride and ask one of these jokers what they’d seen?

Maybe it was too much to face strangers, but they had no excuse to keep living with this fear of each other. As they rounded the turn into their building, Rhett determined that it was time. As they climbed the stairs, Rhett plotted how he would start the conversation. As they neared the door to their room, they stopped in their tracks when they realized they were being stared down by their lurking hallmate, Dylan. His eyes leapt from one man to the other, taking in the tension hanging thick between them. He chuckled under his breath and stepped around them, shaking his head. Link barely spared him a moment of annoyance as he pushed the door open.

***

“We’ve gotta do this, Link.”

Link sighed heavily, pacing away from Rhett in the small space with no real destination in mind. He crossed his arms across his chest and faced the window.

“Do what, man?”

“We gotta talk about it.”

“Ain’t that what we been doin’?”

“You gonna make me say it?”

Link swallowed. “Yes.”

“We woke up naked together.”

There were no secrets being revealed. No surprises. But that fact didn’t stop the air from being sucked out of the room at the admission of what they hadn’t stopped thinking about since the moment they each had opened their eyes that morning. Link refused to turn, refused to move, so Rhett spoke again.

“Don’t tell me you don’t remember _that_.”

Link’s voice was small and soft. “I remember.”

“Okay,” Rhett exhaled. He felt a part of his chest open up now that they were on the same page. But there were so many more questions to be answered. “Do you...do you remember how we got there?”

“I told you, Rhett. I didn’t lie to you. I don’t remember leaving the party. Or anything after, till this morning.”

“So...you got any guesses as to what happened?”

Link turned around and let his eyes slowly scan the room before landing on Rhett. “You really wanna start brainstorming scenarios together?”

Rhett felt the flush begin to climb his neck again, but he swallowed down the fear and pressed on. “Can we be serious and actually talk about this?”

“There’s nothin’ to talk about, man. It’s not a big deal. I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation that doesn’t involve us screwing.”

“Yeah, a lot of other explanations that still involve our dicks being out and in awfully close proximity. You really think you can explain that away?”

“Why’re you so determined to make this happen, Rhett?”

“I ain’t tryna _make_ anything happen, man! What happened happened!”

“You don’t frickin’ _know_ what happened! You really want it so bad you gotta force me to agree with you? You want me to sleep with you again tonight so you can remember it this time?”

Rhett watched himself shove Link back before he even registered the lifting of his hands to do so. Link caught his thigh on the sharp corner of his desk as he stumbled, then he turned to glare at Rhett, eyes blazing. He shoved him back, but Rhett was ready, feet grounded. He absorbed the push and slung an arm around Link’s neck, swinging him around and down to the floor.

When they wrestled, it was medieval rules. Physical domination proved the truth was on the victor’s side, the Powers That Be bestowing the champion with supernatural strength as a show of divine sanction. But Link wasn’t having it. Why Rhett was so determined to prove something had happened between them was beyond his ability to reason, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let Rhett’s physical size be proof of his point. Link threw his whole self into forcing them to roll, and he pinned Rhett beneath him, the thrill of dominance heating his blood.

“Why d’you want this, man?” Link grunted through his effort. Rhett scrambled for purchase on his arms, pushing at his shoulders, but Link was alight with adrenaline and purpose. “Why d’you need this so bad? You want me or somethin’?”

Rhett roared with frustration and used the added strength of his torso, lifting his hips and swinging them to the left to throw off Link’s balance. Then he shoved at Link’s left shoulder and heaved his body over, ignoring Link’s grunts of protest as he planted his weight on top of him and went limp.

 _“Noooo, Rhett!”_ Link whined. “Please, not now!”

“What? Can’t help it. I’m dead.”

Link growled. He refused to give up the fight. He pressed his palms into Rhett’s shoulders, dug fingers into his armpits, but the man wouldn’t budge. Finally, against his better judgment, his used his lower body. He raised his hips, hoping the force would give him space to squirm out from underneath him,  but all it accomplished was to alert him to slight difference in the way Rhett’s body felt above him.

They’d wrestled a hundred times, and it almost always ended like this, Link pinned beneath him, breathless and angry. He’d known the feeling of Rhett’s weight since they were children. And sure, maybe this wasn’t exactly the first time one of them had gotten a little hard somewhere along the way, but there was an unspoken understanding between them. Dicks have a mind of their own, and their owners couldn’t be held fully responsible for the occasional unexpected erection. It didn’t mean anything.

But this time, context changed things. The air was charged with tension, the mental image in both their minds of what might have been, and when they both gasped at the feeling of their bodies pressed together, they froze.

Link expected Rhett to jump off him, pretend nothing had happened. Instead he lay still, breath heavy in Link’s ear, as their hearts pounded against each other’s chests. And when Link felt the beginnings of his own erection forming, he closed his eyes and whispered, barely audible.

“This what you wanted, bo?”

Rhett groaned and pressed his hips down into Link’s, but he shook his head no. Link chuckled in his ear and ground back up against him.

“Ain’t it?”

Rhett exhaled, shaky and overwhelmed, and when he pressed down again, Link could feel that his erection had reached full strength. It dug into the bone of Link’s hip, and he leaned into the pain, answering with another press of his own.

Link’s responsiveness caused what was left of Rhett’s restraint to snap. He found a rhythm against Link’s body, and his best friend joined him in harmony, as always, as in everything. Their breath puffing against each other’s ears added a soft percussion, and Link’s fingertips found the smooth lines of Rhett’s ribs along his back, laid out like piano keys for him to play. The growing need in their bodies freed their voices to join in the song, a melody of low, wordless grunts and groans.

Link was surprised when he reached his climax first. His voice was restrained yet unable to be fully withheld, the thrill of this moment creating a force stronger than his usual self-produced orgasms. He shuddered wildly, bucking up against Rhett’s body and digging in his fingers as strangled groans rolled from his lips. Rhett’s own voice sounded high and affected in Link’s ear when he followed with a choked _oh gosh, Link_. He ground down so hard Link was sure he would bruise.

They came down to the sounds of only their heavy breathing, the distant peal of laughter, and a slammed door somewhere down the hall. Link kept his eyes pressed shut; he was sure he couldn’t bear the burden of Rhett’s gaze. He didn’t open them when Rhett’s warm weight left him, and he only dared peek when he heard the sound of Rhett’s dresser pull open and suddenly shut again. He caught just a glimpse of the hurried way Rhett dropped his shorts and underwear before yanking up a fresh set and tossing the old into his laundry. Without ever glancing back in Link’s direction, Rhett slipped on his sandals and out the door.

 

Link lay there until his damp shorts became too cold and uncomfortable. He stood, stripped his shorts and boxers off, and tossed them in his own laundry bag after replacing them with new ones. Then he sat at his desk and rested his chin in his palm.

He would almost believe he had imagined the last ten minutes if it weren’t for the reality painted all over his body. The sore patch on his hip bone. The stickiness on his abdomen. The dull ache left from the pressure of Rhett’s body against his chest. The residual euphoria mingled with dread sparking his every cell.

When he couldn’t stand to sit in the silence with his thoughts anymore, he gathered up Rhett’s dirty sheets from the floor, found his laundry quarters in his desk, and marched the load down to the basement laundry room. Link worked on a paper till the sun went down, switching the sheets to the dryer mid-way through. When he couldn’t stay focused any longer, he retrieved the laundry and remade Rhett’s bed, then he climbed up into his bunk and listened to music with his eyes closed, remembering the feel of Rhett’s hot breath against his ear. When he eventually felt himself beginning to doze off, he stripped off his shorts and flipped off the light, trying not to worry about how late it was and how his best friend was still out there somewhere.

 

Rhett slipped in at two a.m. He undressed quietly for bed; then, before crawling into his bunk, he paused to watch Link sleep in the near-dark. He noticed the way his chest rose and fell, mouth hanging open slightly, face relaxed.

There was probably no going back from what they’d done. Maybe if they had left it as a drunken mistake, they might have been able to laugh it off, maybe even forget their suspicions as cleanly as the alcohol had erased the memory itself. But this has been deliberate, intentional, even if not premeditated.

In the darkness, Link looked young, like the boy he’d had over for sleepovers when they were children, when they were innocent and uncomplicated. Now, their relationship would be anything but.

With a sigh, Rhett climbed into his bed and went to sleep.


	5. Reciprocal

The sun was high and bright through the window when Rhett’s eyes finally cracked open. He closed them against the light and focused on the way it shone red through his eyelids, and he listened for Link’s breathing. Link wasn’t much of a snorer, at least as long as he was on a flat surface, but Rhett could usually hear him breathing even at his quietest. But the room was silent. It was clear Link was gone.

With the unusual level of grogginess came the memory of why Rhett had gotten so little sleep. It flooded back to him as his mind reached full awakeness, and with it, acute humiliation. Had that really happened? Did he remember it correctly? Had Link been into it, been reciprocal, or had Rhett...oh god, he hadn’t, had he?

Rhett sat up in bed, shaking loose the last of sleep, and fought to remember the event in as much detail as possible. They hadn’t been drunk, not this time. They’d been talking, then fighting, then wrestling, then...well, then Rhett was getting off. But he distinctly remembered Link talking, egging him on, pressing back. He _had_ been into it...but now he was gone.

And Rhett wouldn’t blame him if he needed some space. Rhett had taken his own, after all. He’d stormed out, unconcerned with what motive Link may have read from the action. First he had walked, back and forth in a broad zigzag across campus and then around the full perimeter. By the time he’d finished that, Rhett had been starving, and he managed to snag a snack from the cafeteria before they’d closed. Unwilling to return to the room but unsure where else to go—as they hadn’t really made any significant friends yet, at least any that he’d feel comfortable asking for a couch on which to crash—Rhett had reluctantly returned to their building and settled into a quiet corner of the lounge. There was a TV there, and he’d watched something inane until he felt his eyes drooping. Then he’d slunk home, praying Link was asleep.

Rhett stood, stretched his stiff, sleepy limbs, and peered up at the top bunk, confirming that it was indeed empty. He realized for the first time that his own bed was made up with fresh sheets, and he smiled. He pulled a baggy Wolfpack t-shirt from his dresser along with a pair of athletic shorts, his stomach rumbling in anticipation of breakfast as he dressed. He didn’t mind going down to the cafeteria alone despite the fact that he usually enjoyed when he and Link went together. He wasn’t quite ready to face the music of what they’d done, and if Link had made it a point to get up and out of the room before Rhett had awoken, it was clear he wasn’t ready to face it yet either. However, just as Rhett had slipped on his shoes and was reaching for the door handle, the door swung open in his face, and he met Link eye-to-eye, the other man in nothing but a towel.

“Oh,” Rhett mumbled, averting his gaze. “Was just about to go eat.”

“You gonna wait for me?” Link asked as he pushed past him toward his dresser.

“Uh, yeah. Sure. But hurry up, man; I’m starvin’.”

As Link began to pull open drawers, Rhett slumped back to sit on his bed. With Link’s back to him, Rhett couldn’t help but notice the beads of moisture still clinging to his skin. He had just begun to focus on how low the towel was hanging on Link’s hips when that towel dropped altogether, giving Rhett an eyeful before he dropped his gaze again, his face flushing. Link had always had a personal policy of, what he called, ‘minimizing the moment of nakedness.’ And while it was true that college had begun to free him up some in their short time there, the liberties he was taking now were beyond any freedom Rhett had witnessed in this area of Link dressing with an audience. From his periphery Rhett watched Link casually bend down, back arched as he stepped into his boxers, first one foot and then the other, dragging them up his legs until they slid into place over the curve of his backside. Despite having previously looked away, Rhett realized by the end of the exhibition that he was now taking full advantage of the fact that Link’s back was to him, giving Rhett all the time in the world to take a good look without being caught. Rhett could hear the smile in Link’s voice when he spoke, low and dangerous.

“I’ve got a bruise.”

Rhett swallowed and looked down at the floor. “What’d you do?”

Link turned. “It’s on my hip. Wanna see?”

Rhett shrugged. “Why?”

Still ignoring Rhett’s questions, Link took three slow steps forward and then curled his thumb into his waistband, dipping it low on the side to reveal a purple spot the side of an egg against the edge of his hip bone. Rhett could see the tease of dark hair just where fabric met skin. He refused to meet Link’s eyes and looked at the bruise for only a moment, but it was harder here to avert his gaze when Link was so close, crowding his space.

“Okay, man, I see it. Why you makin’ me look?”

Link chuckled as he let his waistband snap back into place, returning to his dresser to pull out the day’s clothes.

“Just figured you oughta see your handiwork. Take responsibility or pride or however you wanna take it.”

Rhett felt his heart drop into his stomach at the realization of what had caused the bruise. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again, gathering his thoughts. Finally he swallowed, brow furrowing.

“You talk like it’s all on me. Like I…”

Link finished dressing at a leisurely pace even as Rhett’s sentence trailed off into nothing. Finally he shoved his dresser drawers shut and strolled to his desk chair, sitting and facing Rhett, face more sober than before but with a twinkle remaining in his eye.

“Like you what?”

Rhett narrowed his eyes. “Yesterday you were denyin’ it. What changed?”

“Like you what, Rhett?”

“Like I forced you!” Rhett’s mouth snapped shut when he realized how loud his voice had become, and after an annoyed shake of the head, he continued in a lower tone. “Don’t pretend you weren’t into it, man.”

“I think it’s clear I was. You didn’t force nothin’.”

“So why were you fightin’ me over it yesterday? Why’re you cool about this now?”

Link shrugged one shoulder. “It just doesn’t seem so unlikely now. Y’know, that somethin’ might’ve happened...after the party. ‘Cause like…” He stood and moved to Rhett’s bunk, sitting beside him, their thighs touching. “It just didn’t take much, right? For us to...y’know. So like, how much easier would it have been if we were stone drunk?”

“But why now?” Rhett asked, his voice hushed with Link’s proximity. “I know we ain’t ever been quite that drunk before, but we’ve wrestled plenty of times.”

“But like...now it’s out there.” Link extended his hand the few inches it took to reach Rhett’s knee and grazed his fingertips across it. “Having that question out there was enough to ignite somethin’.”

They sat in silence, both of them watching Link’s fingers trace patterns against the bare skin of Rhett’s knee, until Rhett registered the effect it was having on his body and jumped to his feet.

“Okay,” he exhaled, “alright. We still gettin’ food?”

Link nodded and stood. “Can we not sit in the cafeteria? I don’t think I can handle any more of that.”

“Wanna get Mickey D’s?”

Link shrugged again, grabbed his wallet, and followed Rhett out the door.

***

They were near silent on the short drive to the McDonald’s down the street. Rhett had his heart set on an Egg McMuffin, but they just missed the breakfast cut-off and had to settle for lunch food. They ate as Rhett drove, and in the quiet, the air between them crackled. As he took the final turn back onto campus, Rhett took a deep breath and exhaled the question that had been nagging him all morning.

“So what does this mean?”

Link swallowed the mouthful of fries he’d been chewing. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. We’ve always been so close; the boundaries have always been a little blurred.”

“What do you mean?” Rhett garbled around his burger.

“Just like...we’ve always been somewhere between friends and brothers. Not quite real brothers, but closer than just friends. So maybe this would be, like, between friends and something else. Something...more.”

“So, what?” Rhett set his burger in his lap and took a sip of his Coke, rinsing the food from his throat. “You sayin’ this would be, like, a _relationship?_ Or are you sayin’ you want one of those ‘friends with benefits’ kinda deals?”

Something in Rhett’s tone set Link's jaw on edge, and the need for self-preservation set in. “I never said anything about a relationship, Rhett. I just finished tellin’ you it didn’t have to mean nothin’.”

“So what’s the point?”

“I dunno! To get off? Why you gotta pick this apart?”

Rhett’s mouth tightened into a line, and he gripped the steering wheel as he pulled back into the dormitory’s parking lot. They grabbed their bags of food and sodas and marched back up to their floor, silent again. Once the door had shut behind them, Link slung himself into his desk chair and pulled out a textbook, careful not to let it touch his fries and pick up grease. Then he threw on a pair of headphones and began to flip through his book of CDs in search of the music to match his mood.

“What, are we done talkin’ about this?” Rhett asked before Link had a chance to drown him out.

“I gotta get some work done, man.”

Link yanked a Brooks & Dunn CD from its sleeve and clicked it into place in the small boombox beside his desk lamp. He tried to wrangle his brain into focus, away from the conflicted emotions and the knowledge that he was jerking Rhett around. Rhett wasn’t the enemy. They were on the same team, both just as confused and elated and terrified over what was happening between them. But every time he felt a burst of confidence to face this thing head-on, to be strong when Rhett faltered, he found himself to be the one faltering. Yesterday he had run from the scene every time he had had the chance to face this thing, and now, instead of running physically, he was running emotionally. Shutting Rhett out, refusing to let things get too real, too honest. He closed his eyes, steeling himself to try again, plotting the words he would say, when he felt long arms wrap across his chest and around his shoulders. He heard the murmur of Rhett’s voice lost in the sound of the music in his ears, and he pulled the headphones off.

“What did you say?”

“I said I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

Rhett sighed. “I dunno.”

Link chuckled, and Rhett joined him, pointy chin dropping into the dark hair at the crown of Link’s head. The music could still be faintly heard through Link’s headphones where they rested atop his textbook, and Rhett began to sway them both. He hummed along, the sound reverberating down through Link’s head and filling his body with Rhett’s melody, low and sweet.

“I’m sorry I’m actin’ like this,” Link finally said. Rhett stopped his motion and squeezed Link’s shoulders gently.

“It’s okay. I’m freaked out too.”

“Last night was fun though.”

Rhett chuckled again. “Yeah. It was.”

“I don’t even mind that you bruised me.”

Rhett pinched his arm, and Link yelped, then laughed.

“Hey...what do you picture?” Rhett asked, his voice low. “Like, when you wonder what might’ve happened the other night. After the party.”

“You askin’ what I _think_ happened or what I _hope_ happened?”

Rhett shrugged. “I dunno. However you see it in your head. Take it however you want. Except...can we move this conversation somewhere else? Leanin’ down like this is startin’ to hurt my back.”

He straightened, and Link rotated his chair, looking up at him. They grinned, and then Link nudged his head to the side, indicating Rhett’s lower bunk. No further discussion needed, they moved to the bed, sitting cross-legged and slouched so as not to hit their heads on the underside of Link’s mattress.

“This ain’t gonna help much with the back situation.”

“You ain’t slick, man.”

Rhett’s jaw dropped in mock offense, a playful grin crinkling his eyes. “I ain’t tryin’ to be slick!” Then he slid down, stretching out long on his side, facing Link. “I’m just tryin’ to get comfortable. You do whatever you need to do.”

Link rolled his eyes and grinned, then he stretched out alongside him, their faces close in the narrow bed. “So, the question remains.”

Rhett’s eyebrows raised. “It remains.”

“What do I picture?”

Rhett nodded and bit his lower lip.

“Well,” Link began. “We were drunk, right? And apparently naked? Or close to it at least. It sounds like the nakedness started at the party, and so...maybe we ended up in one of those bedrooms. You know, like in the frat parties in the movies.”

“You think we got it on right there at the party?”

“I dunno, man, lemme finish!”

Rhett grinned again, pleased with the trajectory he’d started, but he quieted so Link could continue.

“I think we lost some clothes somehow and got super into it, seein’ each other like that, and went into one of those rooms to maybe fool around a bit. But, like, it started to get hot and heavy, and we didn’t want the first time to be _there_ , ya know? I mean, we were drunk, but we got standards.”

“Of course. Then what?”

“I dunno. We musta walked home ‘cause I don’t know how else we managed it. But we got here, and…”

When Link trailed off, Rhett poked him in the chest. “And what? You got me in suspense!”

Link grabbed the hand at his chest and held it there. “Well...I figure we started with kissin’.”

“Mmm,” Rhett replied, his eyes jumping from Link’s grip on his hand to the curve of his lips. “I bet kissin’ you is nice.”

Link shrugged. “I ain’t had any complaints.”

Rhett laughed. “Anything else?”

“Well, whatever clothes were left...I’m sure they didn’t last long.”

“Oh yeah?”

Link grinned, bright and wide. “Oh yeah. Got my hands on those stupid tights you were wearing, supposin’ you were still wearing ‘em, and just…”

Rhett swallowed. “Just what?”

Link’s eyes dropped, focusing on the legs in question, trying not to fixate on the bulge he could see forming in Rhett’s pants. “Just...dragged ‘em down those long legs of yours. Took my time, too.”

Rhett found he couldn’t respond. His mouth had gone dry, so he stayed quiet, silently praying Link would continue.

“And you...I see how you look at me, man. You had your hands all over me.”

Rhett found his voice around a laugh. “Dude, you’re so cocky.”

“Am I wrong, though?”

Rhett rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me say it.”

“Say what?”

Rhett shook his head and huffed a laugh out his nose. “You’re hot, okay? You know you’re hot.”

“I am?”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“A hot asshole.”

“I wanna kiss you, man.”

“So what’re you waitin’ for?”

They went quiet, eyes and grins wide, both men suddenly aware of the impact of this moment, of taking their time as they approached it. It somehow didn’t matter that it was likely not their first kiss. It would be the first one they would remember. Time slowed as Link released Rhett’s hand and freed him to take Link’s face in both his palms, angling him back to lie flat, their noses brushing as they searched each other’s faces for any hint of hesitancy. They found only welcome. Rhett closed his eyes and brought their lips together.

He’d only kissed girls, and the girls he’d kissed were so soft, lips glossy and sighs high and breathy. Girls who’d been taught to be sweet southern belles, pliant and warm and not too eager, not giving away too much. But Link had never been one to hold back from him. And while he’d often let Rhett take the lead, he’d always met him there, matched him beat-for-beat. They’d been taught that they were men, and a man takes charge.

When Rhett’s lips parted, Link responded, mouth opening to both receive and give back, tongues tangling for playful dominance. They’d been wrestling all their lives, and old habits die hard. When Link nipped at Rhett’s lip, he felt the man above him soften and melt into him, and he used the softness to his advantage. He gripped Rhett’s shoulders and rolled them over—the flimsy bed frame creaking beneath them—and straddled Rhett’s hips before diving down to take his lips again. Under normal circumstances, Rhett wouldn’t so easily allow Link to take control, but he found he didn’t mind this time. He let his fingertips trace the ridges of Link’s back, his ribs and the curves of his muscles, and a wave of wonder and gratitude crashed over him and expressed itself in a groan that reverberated down Link’s throat and woke up every nerve in his body. Link gasped and thrust down against Rhett’s pelvis, and he leaned down to get his mouth on Rhett’s neck.

Rhett felt his head spin. The eager lips on his throat and the slow roll of Link’s hips felt so new, yet so rooted in something ancient. Wasn’t this what had always been just out of reach, the mystery hovering just beyond the edges of their periphery? When Link’s mouth met his again, Rhett noticed the familiar taste of him, awakening the ghost of memory, despite the fact that kissing Link was not something he’d done before this weekend. It was simply something his mind felt it should know, felt it _did_ know.

Without warning, the joy bubbled up out of Rhett’s belly in a laugh that rolled into the mouth exploring his own, and Link broke the kiss and looked down on him with a quizzical expression.

“What’s so funny?”

Rhett stilled the laughter, but his cheeks betrayed his mirth. “Nothin’. You don’t hafta stop.”

“Somethin’s funny, man,” Link said with a grin, eyebrows still furrowed in question. “You gonna tell me what it is, or do I have to beat it outta ya?”

Rhett rolled his eyes. “I’d like to see you try.”

Link straightened as far as the upper bunk would allow and wrapped his hands around Rhett’s waist, squeezing lightly. “You gonna test me?”

“Don’t you dare.”

“What’s so funny?”

“I ain’t laughin’ man; nothin’s funny.”

Link dug fingers into the flesh beneath Rhett’s ribcage, and Rhett erupted in a peal of laughter. “Nothin’s funny, huh? Sounds pretty funny to me!”

“Stop!” Rhett gasped between howls. “Get yer hands off me, man!”

Link wouldn’t relent. “I thought you didn’t want me to stop! Which is it, bo? You want my hands on you or not?”

“Yes! But not there, dude!”

“Then where?”

Time stopped when Link felt the pressure of Rhett’s palm clap down between his legs. His hands were still frozen on Rhett’s waist, but instead of tickling, he gripped, needing the stability of his best friend in the chaos of this new landscape. His head dropped back and he took in a shuddering breath.

“Yeah?” Link breathed. “That the spot?”

Rhett hummed his response and sat up, pressing his lips to Link’s throat as Link had done to him before. “Sounds like you don’t mind it so much either.”

“Don’t stop.”

Rhett chuckled again and wrapped his hand around the firm length he could feel through Link’s shorts. He squeezed, and Link gasped. It crossed his mind to reciprocate, but for the moment all he could manage was to curve his hips forward and thrust into Rhett’s palm.

“Why does your hand feel so much better than mine?” Link whispered, and Rhett laughed again and squeezed tighter.

“I don’t know if I can answer that. I ain’t had the chance to compare for myself.”

Link grinned wide and snaked his hand between them, finding Rhett’s erection eagerly awaiting him. Rhett growled and thrust up into the feeling, and they found their rhythm—along with each other’s mouths—once again.

Neither of them had ever climaxed with another person besides each other, besides yesterday and perhaps the day previous, and the still-fresh novelty of it made short work of the experience. It was only moments before Rhett’s heavy breath evolved into a high whine, his body shuddering against his friend’s, and though Link tried to wait for Rhett to finish before releasing, he found he couldn’t hold off. They gasped against each other’s shoulders as they came down, both hands suddenly aware of the softening, the wetness beneath their palms, both arms retreating just far enough but not removing themselves from each other’s bodies, not completely. Rhett lowered his forehead to Link’s shoulder and let his arms wrap around his ribs.

“We okay?”

Link rested his chin on Rhett’s shoulder and returned the hug. “Of course we are.”

“You’re okay that we did this?”

Link pulled back and looked into his eyes. “Yeah. I’m good, Rhett. I wanted to. Are _you_ okay?”

Rhett nodded and kissed him, quick and light. But Link saw a hint of sadness in his eyes when he pulled back again.

“What is it?”

Rhett sighed and stretched back out on his bunk, pulling Link down with him. Link curled into Rhett’s shoulder and draped an arm across his midsection. Rhett was silent, but Link knew he was just processing his words, so he didn’t push him to continue. Finally Rhett spoke.

“Do you think...do you wanna do this again sometime? Is this, like, a thing we’re gonna do now?”

Link pushed up on his elbow and looked down into Rhett’s face, searching.

“Do you want it to be?” he asked.

Rhett swallowed and nodded, suppressing a smile. Link smiled back and returned to his place stretched out along his side. “Me too.”

When Rhett sighed again, Link squeezed him around the middle. “What?”

“It’s just that...if this is _us_ now...I hate that we can’t remember our first time. Whatever that was, whatever we did. I hate that we can never know for sure what happened.”

Link chewed his lip for a moment. Finally he smacked Rhett on the belly, prompting a startled _oof!_ , and began to crawl over him out of the bed.

“Come on.”

“Where?”

“Change your shorts, ya filthy animal. We’re gonna get to the bottom of this.”

“What? How?”

“We’re going back to the frat house. Someone there has to know more than we do. We’re getting answers if it kills us.”


	6. A Safe Guess

“They finally cleaned up, I see,” Link mumbled as they approached the frat house once again, and Rhett looked at him.

“And you said you didn’t get much info out of the last time?”

Link shrugs. “Yeah. But this time’ll be different.”

“You’re awfully optimistic.”

“I’m just determined. I’m tired of all this guessing and speculating. We’re not leaving without answers.”

Rhett grinned and nudged his shoulder against Link’s as they walked, and the other man grinned back without looking his way. Their grins stayed fixed as they approached the front steps, but they began to fade when the door came into reach, both their self-consciousness and their nerves winning out. Link took the initiative, this being the third time he’d been here, and knocked on the door.

“It’s open!” a woman’s voice called from inside, and Link pushed open the door. A lanky young woman with chin-length black hair leaned against the shins of a blond wannabe surfer in the wrong part of the country. He had a textbook nestled against her hair, which she didn’t seem to mind, though it slid into his lap when she raised her head to take in the two men entering the room.

“Hey!” she laughed. “The tall one!”

“The who now?”

“Look!” She elbowed him, forcing his attention out of his book. “That guy Alyssa was following around like a puppy!”

“Sam’s Alyssa?”

“I don’t think so.” It was Link who spoke, and at the interruption, all eyes went to him. “Sorry, hi, I’m Link. I don’t think we met.” He extended a hand to the couple on the couch, and they introduced themselves as Jon and Katie. “I just meant,” he continued once niceties were in order, “that I don’t think she’s Sam’s Alyssa.”

“You know Sam and Alyssa?” Jon asked.

“Not really, I just…heard some things.”

Katie rotated on the couch to put her feet on the floor, and she leaned in, her chin pressing into her fist in interest.

“What things?”

Link met Rhett’s eyes for only a moment before looking away, eyes darting instead between Jon’s and Katie’s intrigued faces.

“They were in the library. She said...well, she ain’t into him. And they were talkin’ about Rhett, and he…kinda called her a slut.”

Jon rolled his eyes. “God, that guy needs to learn some fucking manners. No wonder he has so much trouble getting laid. Calling a girl a slut ain’t gonna get you any favors.”

“Unless she likes it,” Katie murmured under her breath, and Jon turned, his mouth lifting into a grin. Katie winked, then turned back to the other men and shrugged.

“Well, it doesn’t really make any sense that Sam would say that about her,” she said, “at least not if they were just talkin’ about the other night. It’s not like anything happened between y’all. You were clearly not into her.”

Rhett swallowed. “But like...I dunno, I was pretty drunk. I don’t really remember much. Maybe I…”

When he trailed off, she looked him over, lips pressed together in scrutiny. “How much _do_ you remember?”

Rhett’s shoulders sagged, and he moved to the couch and slumped down, the weight of their search exhausting him. “Honestly, not enough. Not enough to make any sense of...of what we know. Of what…”

Link saw him struggling and cut in. “We’re tryin’ to figure out how the night ended. We’ve been on sort of a scavenger hunt for clues, but it just ain’t addin’ up. We hoped maybe y’all could fill in more of the details.”

Katie’s eyes darted between them, and then her face spread into a smirk. “Really? You don’t remember? I mean, Alyssa was all over you, Rhett, but…”

Rhett’s eyes rolled when she didn’t finish her thought, and he sighed. “Please. Just tell me. I need to know.”

She smiled again and leaned forward conspiratorially, elbows pressed into her thighs and hands clasped in front of her.

“The only person I saw you makin’ eyes at the whole night was this guy,” she said with a nod in Link’s direction. “Last I saw, y’all were butt naked and runnin’ out the front door.” Then her face brightened as inspiration struck. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “I got pictures!”

All eyes fell on her as both hands disappeared into the floppy, bohemian-style shoulder bag near her feet. She lifted out a stack of Polaroids and began to flip through, murmuring to herself about the contents as she went. Finally her eyes lit up, and she handed over a single square print, a pleased smile on her face.

Rhett was closest, and he took the picture from her hand as Link sank onto the couch beside him. The image showed a crowd of drunk, cheering college students, hands in the air amid brightly-colored clothing. In the center of the crowd, which had parted for their passage, sprinted two naked young men. Rhett wore only a pair of pink tights wrapped around his head, and Link wore nothing but a bright green top hat.

“What the hell was going on here?” Link asked. “What were we doing?”

Jon laughed. “Streaking!”

***

“It’s just...yeah, we’re still missin’ a piece, but…”

Link nudged Rhett to continue. They’d taken the long way back, looping far around the perimeter of campus to make a roundabout trek back to their dorm, giving them more privacy to process this new information.

“I just think we’ve got enough info to make a pretty safe assumption.”

“So spell it out for me, then,” Link insisted. “What’s your assumption?”

They were walking closely enough that it was no strange thing for their hands to brush. But when they did, Rhett let his pinky hook into Link’s, locking them together at the barest point, and Link grinned.

“Well, they could all see it, whatever was happenin’ between us at the party. Whatever this is. And, like, we left naked, right? Even if our reasons for bein’ naked were more for show than for...y’know...it’s still logical to assume we finished in private what we started in public.”

“So logic’s good enough for you? You’re happy fillin’ in the blanks?”

“No,” Rhett assured him, “but it’s what we got. No one saw us when we got back to our room. We ain’t gonna get anything more than guesses. But it seems a safe guess.”

Link didn’t respond immediately, but after a quick glance around them, he let his fingers fully interlock with Rhett’s.

“It’s kinda sad in a way,” Link said after a minute spent reveling in the feel of their hands gripped tight. “That whatever happened between us, we’ll never have the memory of that first time. I know we talked about this, but now that it’s all but confirmed…”

“But dontcha think it’s a little hot?”

Link looked up at Rhett’s face to catch the grin and faint blush on his cheeks. He elbowed him but kept ahold of his hand. “How’s that?”

“It’s like...like a secret, even from us. We can fantasize about what might’ve happened but never know for sure. Like we did before,” he added with a sly chuckle.

Link squeezed his hand and laughed. “Yeah, okay. I guess that’s a positive spin on it.”

They dropped their grip on each other’s hands when they neared their dorm, but the brushing of knuckles was too consistent to be anything less than deliberate. They made it up the last flight of stairs, and as they paused to open their door, Link turned and stopped him, palm landing on Rhett’s chest.

“I’d still wanna know, though. If we could. It’s impossible, I know, but like...I’d wanna know. To know what we did and what are our firsts. Does that make sense?”

Rhett grinned and leaned down for a brief kiss. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I would too. But I’ll take you any way I can get you.”

Link felt a surge of joy flood his body, and he grabbed Rhett’s face in both his hands and kissed him, firm and long. He didn’t stop until the butterflies in his stomach forced him to come up for air. Rhett opened his mouth to speak, but instead his heart jumped into his throat at the sound of a third voice.

“God, finally. I was wonderin’ if you two idiots were ever gonna make this happen.”

Rhett was dumbstruck at Dylan’s interruption, he and Link caught red-handed. It didn’t even register what he’d said until Link spoke.

“What does that mean?”

“I mean the sexual tension between y’all is palpable. Frankly, it’s painful to watch. Don’t even get me started on that pitiful display Friday night. I just humbly request that if y’all are gonna be fuck buddies now, you do it quietly enough that the RA doesn’t catch you and that you don’t gross the rest of us out. I ain’t into gay porn.”

“What do you know about Friday? What did you see?” Rhett insisted once he found his tongue. Dylan laughed out loud.

“Oh, y’all’re in for a treat.”


	7. Friday Night

Despite the way Rhett kept tugging at the fabric around his crotch, the smirk on his face told Link that the man loved his look. Link knew he himself looked just as silly, but he couldn’t stop grinning at his best friend’s get-up. Rhett had had to cut open the toes of his iridescent pink tights and convert them into footless leggings to accommodate his height, so he’d disguised the damage with mismatched, multi-colored striped socks that reached mid-calf. Bright yellow booty shorts gave him some semblance of decency, and the day-glow orange tank top he wore was wreathed with cheap plastic leis ringing his belly. He strolled with a confident grin on his face, clearly looking forward to showing off his outfit.

Link wore a hot pink wrestling singlet and a lime green top hat. He liked the fact that the hat brought him closer to Rhett’s height, making their seven-inch difference less pronounced. The “bright-and-tight” theme had seemed like a fun one when they’d first gotten the frat party invitation, but they’d had nothing fitting in their drawers. The two thrift stores near campus that they’d tried had turned up empty, save Rhett’s shorts. The rest they’d found at Walmart (socks, tank top, leis), a party store (tights, top hat), and an athletic wear shop (singlet). It had been a wild goose chase, but they were satisfied with the results and sure their looks would impress.

“Which house was it?” Rhett asked as they neared the Greek village.

“Second to last one down the lane. There’s gonna be decorations; we’ll see it.”

“You nervous?”

“Why would I be nervous?”

Rhett shrugged. “I dunno. We’re freshmen. You think they invited us just to prank us?”

Link rolled his eyes. “No, dude; they might want us to rush!”

“But we ain’t doin’ that...right?”

“No way. I ain’t gettin’ involved in anything that’s gonna take focus away from schoolwork. But we gotta get in with the cool crowds I guess, right?”

Rhett shrugged again. “I guess so.”

They walked for another minute in silence. Then Link spoke.

“So whaddya think? Split up or stick together?”

Rhett thought for a moment, his thinking accented by the rhythmic sound of their footsteps on the pavement and the distant cacophony of conversation and music up ahead.

“I say we feel it out together, get a sense of what’s going on where, and then maybe split up for a bit. Don’t want everyone to think we’re married or anything.”

Link rolled his eyes again. “Like that would be new.”

Rhett elbowed him and chuckled. The house loomed ahead, and they quieted as their attention was drawn to it. It was indeed clear where they were headed; plastic flamingos, silly string, and other assorted decorations lay sprawled across the lawn and wound around the railings of the large front porch. Rhett felt a bubble of anxiety form in his chest, and he glanced over at this best friend.

“You ready for this?”

Link grinned, teeth shining in the fading light. “I was born ready.” He surged ahead and took the lead as they rounded the corner and passed through the gate. Rhett hastened his pace to keep up and reached the front door on Link’s tail.

The room was a tangled web of fluorescent bodies, the pumping beat vibrating around and through them. While the guys had had fun fixating on the “bright” element of the theme while choosing their clothes, they immediately found themselves appreciating the “tight” side once they were through the door. Everywhere they looked were curves, beyond even what they had enjoyed from the girls at Harnett County High School.

Rhett leaned down to shout over the noise into Link’s ear. “Where do you wanna go? Take a lap of the house?”

Link’s eyes darted around the space, and he nodded and began to move without further comment. Rhett followed.

The living room was a mass of bodies. Some danced to the music, but most people laughed and talked loudly, plastic cups gripped with varying degrees of focus. A few glanced their way, eyes evaluating the strangers. Rhett tried to force himself not to fixate on what their opinions might be.

He kept his gaze on the back of Link’s head as they wove through the crowd toward the kitchen. They were each handed a cup of beer, and both men took eager swigs to calm their nerves and help them settle in. Beyond the kitchen was a hallway that appeared to lead to a series of bedrooms where couples could be seen slipping in and out of the doorways, lusty and giggling. Rhett and Link sidestepped the hallway in favor of a rec room off the back of the house. Several people were standing around a ping-pong table enjoying a rousing game of beer pong, while others stood along the walls chatting and watching the game from a distance.

“Link! Rhett!” A familiar face caught sight of them, and they were beckoned over. They’d met Terry as they’d perused the Greek booths the previous week, and the fact that he remembered their names among all the new people he’d met made them swell of pride. They grinned as they wove through the cluster of party-goers to shake the third-year student’s hand.

“You made it!” he exclaimed, pulling each man in for a one-armed hug and a firm pat on the back. “And you found drinks! Excellent.” The sound of a girl laughing across the room caught their attention, and when they met her eyes, she smiled. Terry noticed the connection.

“That’s Natalie; she’s in Chi Omega. Cute, right?”

Link nodded with enthusiasm, and Terry gave him a nudge.

“Go talk to her, man! She don’t bite! And she’s single as far as I know.”

Without a glance back at Rhett, Link strode toward the pretty brunette, and her eyes crinkled around a grin when she saw him coming. Rhett didn’t notice he was staring—Link’s arm extended and leaning against the wall over her head, Natalie smiling up at him through her long eyelashes—until Terry slapped him on the shoulder blade.

“Come on, man. Let me introduce you around. We’ll find you a girl too, if, you know, that’s what you’re into.” His head angled back almost imperceptibly toward Link, and Rhett’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Uh, yeah, ‘course I am. But, you know, whatever. I’m just here to have a good time.”

“Well, we’ll make sure of that.”

Rhett followed Terry out of the rec room, back the way he and Link had come, until they reached the living room. Rhett wasn’t sure he’d ever been in a house this large, and with dim lighting and the crowd of people that had formed, it was hard to see where the edges of the room lay. He took his time admiring the tightly-clothed bodies in the room and drained his cup, feeling the alcohol begin to buzz in his veins.

Terry led him to a cluster of party-goers near the bottom of a winding staircase. They took notice when the men approached, Rhett’s height immediately catching their attention. A short girl with impressive, waist-length blonde hair gazed up at him with wide eyes.

“Shit, Terry, where’d you find this guy? I didn’t know they made ‘em in this size!”

Rhett rolled his eyes and smiled. He was used to the reaction his height got, and most of the time he was glad it made him memorable. Terry clapped him on the back, using the force to shove him lightly into the circle.

“This is my friend, Rhett. Y’all wanna keep an eye on him for me?”

As Terry turned to leave, a heavy-set man with an unkempt goatee shouted back at him. “You want us to get him wasted, Terry?”

Terry turned back around and laughed. “You can try. Kid that big can’t be easy to take down.”

The blonde squealed happily at the new project while the others laughed. Rhett felt his cheeks heat up, less than thrilled both at being called a kid and being talked about as if he weren’t present, but he decided to shrug it off for the sake of making friends. He stuck out his hand toward the man with the goatee.

“Rhett McLaughlin.”

“Matt Benson.” He squeezed Rhett’s hand, then released it to gesture toward the others. “This is Sam, Katie, Jon, and that’s Alyssa.” Katie and Jon appeared to be an item based on the way they stood with Katie tucked under his arm. She had a Polaroid camera draped from a strap around her neck, and she waved it at him in place of her hand, as if it were part of the appendage. Sam nodded at Rhett briefly before allowing his eyes to drift back to Alyssa, clearly unhappy with the way she stared up at Rhett. She dragged her eyes down his long body, and a small gasp escaped her mouth when she noticed his empty cup.

“Rhett! You need more beer. Let me get you some.” She plucked the plastic cup from his hand and began to weave her way toward the keg in the corner when Sam broke from the circle and followed her. Matt rolled his eyes.

“Poor guy, can’t take no for an answer. Where you from, man?”

“Buies Creek. You?”

“Just outside Fayetteville. You play basketball?”

Rhett fought the urge to roll his eyes again. “Uh, yeah, I mean, I did. Not so much anymore.”

Matt nodded through the long pause that followed. “I just ask ‘cause you’re tall.”

“I figured.”

“Here ya go!” Alyssa’s perky voice cut through the moment, and Rhett felt his cup shoved back into his palm. He smiled and thanked her, and she beamed back.

“So,” Sam sidled up between the two of them, “you a freshman, Rhett?”

Rhett nodded and glanced down into his cup. “Yeah...yup. Just a baby, I guess.”

Sam snorted. “What’s your major?”

“Civil engineering.”

“Sounds boring.”

Rhett shrugged and huffed out a laugh. “Guess we’ll see. I’m still feelin’ it out, mostly working on gen eds so far..”

“Aww,” Sam mocked, and Alyssa glared at him while addressing Rhett.

“I think it sounds interesting. What is that, like, roads? Deciding where to put stoplights and all that?”

Rhett shrugged again. “Yeah, that’s the gist of it, I guess. I dunno. Like I said, I’m not real sure yet.”

“Then why’d you pick it for your major?” Sam interjected. Rhett rolled his eyes and downed his cup, hoping it would dull the man’s voice. Alyssa cheered at the sight.

“Atta boy! God, you’re gonna be hard to get drunk; Terry wasn’t kidding. There’s just so...much of you,” she marvelled as she looked him up and down again. “But I’m gonna make it my personal project for the night. I’ll have to be careful, though, if I’m gonna see it through. I get drunk _so_ easily.”

She shot him a lewd grin, and Rhett blushed. He glanced across the circle to see Matt involved in an impassioned discussion with Katie and Jon over some recent political issue, though the second beer he’d downed made it hard for Rhett to get a handle on the finer points. He let his eyes roam the room, wondering if Link had made his way out of the rec room, when he felt a yank on his wrist.

A group had formed around the keg in the corner of the room, and Alyssa led him toward it, chattering happily. She was small, but her personality was fierce, and she pushed them through the circle and immediately commanded the attention of the young men gathered around.

“Y’all think you could lift this tall motherfucker for a keg stand?”

Rhett’s eyebrows shot up, but when the crowd cheered for her suggestion, he shrugged. Two large, enthusiastic frat boys took hold of each of Rhett’s long legs and hoisted him upside-down, and Alyssa giggled as she handed him the hose. He made it eight seconds before sputtering, foam running into his nose and choking him as the men lowered him to the ground, the crowd cheering and patting him on the shoulder blades.

Alyssa’s hands found their way to his waist as she looked up into his face, and Rhett turned away, still coughing out the beer that had made it down the wrong pipe.

“You alright, sugar?” she crooned, and Rhett nodded and wiped his eyes. He glanced around the room again, eyes searching for a green top hat.

“Where’s Link?” he said absently, and her brow furrowed.

“Who’s Link?”

Rhett caught sight of Sam, hovering close enough to watch yet far enough not to look too pathetic, on his way back through the crowd. He could feel the alcohol beginning to affect his vision but still felt sure on his feet. He zig-zagged between brightly-colored bodies until he’d made his way to the back of the house where he spotted his best friend.

Link’s back faced the doorway, and the cute brunette Terry had identified as Natalie was leaning into his side, one hand pressed against his spine. Rhett watched, unseen, as Link picked up a ping-pong ball and tossed it across the table. Link groaned, though the sound melted into a laugh as he watched his opponent toss his own ball and sink the landing into one of Link’s cups. He pulled the ball out and downed the cup as Natalie grinned beside him.

“Is that Link?” Alyssa’s voice pierced his thoughts, and he glanced back to see her peering around his arm. Rhett nodded and moved forward into the room, rounding the table until he was standing with the crowd along the edge, near the centerline.

“Hey, man,” Link greeted him without looking up, his concentration focused. “Whatcha been up to?”

“Drinkin’.”

Link paused with a ball in his hand and allowed his eyes to drift to Rhett, scrutinizing him. “Yeah, I can see that. Might wanna slow down, brother.”

“It’s a party, man. That’s why we’re here, ain’t it? Anyway, you’re one to talk.”

“You gonna finish the game, or what?” the man across the table interrupted, and Rhett dragged his eyes from Link to his opponent. Link tossed the ball.

“Can I get next?” Rhett asked him, and the man shrugged.

“We’re almost done anyway.”

Rhett turned his eyes back to Link. Natalie’s head had tipped to his shoulder, and while he wasn't paying particular attention to her, he didn’t seem to mind her presence either. She was gorgeous; Rhett couldn’t blame him. But he found he couldn’t stop fixating on the way her hands casually touched him, like she was the one he came here with, the one he’d known all his life.

He heard Alyssa’s voice at his shoulder again. “You mind if I watch you play?”

Rhett shrugged again. “Sure.”

After a few more shots, the game was done, Link having narrowly won the match but consumed plenty in his own course. He gestured toward the far end of the table, his eyes questioning, and Rhett took the opponent’s place.

“Wait,” Alyssa said as she held up her hands to hold off the start of the game. “I’ve got the best idea. Strip beer pong.”

The room erupted with glee, and Rhett and Link’s eyes met across the table. In their moment of hesitation, a chant began to swell in the tightly-packed crowd, _Strip pong, strip pong, strip pong, strip pong!_

“You know,” Natalie shouted into Link’s ear over the noise, “you might as well. You’re practically naked already!”

“That’s the problem!” Link retorted, waving his hand in Rhett’s direction. “He’s got so much more to take off than I do! I’ll be naked in three rounds and he’s got a good seven or eight on him at least!”

Sam appeared at the side of the table, smirking as he filled each set of cups to the brim with the use of a pitcher he’d found. He smacked Rhett across the upper arm.

“Why not donate some of those flowers to your boyfriend there?”

“He ain’t my boyfriend,” Rhett said as he glanced down his body at the leis ringing his belly, then he wriggled his way out of them and tossed them across the table. “Here. Good?”

Link answered by picking them up and settling them around his neck, and Natalie tugged on them playfully.

“Can I be your assistant, Link?”

Link had just opened his mouth to answer before Alyssa’s voice cut through the growing ruckus of the crowd gathering to see the spectacle.

“Well, you’re gonna need one too, then, won’tcha?” She chuckled as she gripped Rhett’s arm, and he glared across the table at the brunettes.

“Guess so.”

Link’s brow was furrowed slightly at the scowl on Rhett’s face, and he flashed his teeth, the playful grin he’d disarmed Rhett with on the first day they’d met.

“Come on, man! Have some fun! Loosen up! You can throw first.”

Rhett rolled his shoulders back as he picked up the first ball, internally centering himself the way he had done before shooting a basket during his days as a high school basketball star. He locked eyes with Link, not looking away as he tossed the first ball and sank it without a hitch.

The crowd cheered, and when Link lifted his hands to pull off the first lei, Natalie stopped him.

“Nope. That’s my job.” He dropped his hands, and she slid the lei slowly over his head, lingering on the contact. Then she pulled the ball from the cup and handed it to Link. Link grinned at her as he downed it.

He took the ball from her fingers and tossed it across the table. With the full set of cups still available to him, it wasn’t hard to sink one, and Alyssa squealed as she looked Rhett up and down for her first target. He lifted his foot, and she slid off a shoe, making the action as sensual as possible. Then she followed Natalie’s lead, plucking the ball from the cup and handing it to Rhett who tipped it back in one motion.

When Link’s second ball bounced off a rim and Natalie reached for the next lei, Link laughed his objection.

“Hey, I thought I was only stripping when he sank a ball!”

“You wanna be on the floor before you get naked? I think y’all need to strip for both a miss and a point against you.”

Link rolled his eyes but allowed her to free him of his necklace, his eyes trained on his friend. “How you doin’ over there, brother?”

“Great. I’m great. How’re you?”

“What’s up with you, man?”

“Nothing’s up with me. You gonna let me take my turn?”

“Who’s stoppin’ you?”

Rhett tossed the next ball carelessly, overshooting altogether. Alyssa slid off the second shoe and let her hands drag up the length of his leg on the way back up.

“God, you are one tall fucker.”

“You mentioned that. Your move, Link.”

In the next few rounds, Link lost his final lei plus both his flip-flops, while Rhett was relieved of his mismatched socks and his tank top. Alyssa became unable to take her hands off of him once his shirt was gone, fingers exploring the curve of his shoulder blade and the sparse hair on his chest. When she tried to trace his ribs, Rhett wriggled away, suppressing the urge to giggle. The room was beginning to spin, and he knew he didn’t have much hope of sinking all Link’s cups before he was completely naked, but he couldn’t imagine the other man was faring any better. Then the next ball sloshed into his cup. Rhett looked down his body at what was left to remove.

Alyssa was eager to save him the trouble. She got a grip on the waistband of his yellow shorts and began to slide them down over the smooth pink tights beneath, and Rhett barely had the wherewithal to process the laughter and cheers of the crowd when the bulge of his half-hard erection was revealed through the tights.

Alyssa whooped with pride, sure she was the cause, but Rhett kept his eyes trained on his opponent. Link swayed a little in his spot.

“How ya doin’, McLaughlin? You havin’ fun?”

Rhett tossed his ball and sank it, despite his focus being long gone. “Yup.”

“‘Cause you look like you’re havin’ fun.”

“Wassat supposed to mean?”

Link downed his beer, expecting Natalie to reach for his top hat when instead her fingers curled into the shoulder straps of his singlet. She chuckled as he conceded, shrugging his shoulders out of the getup. She dragged it enticingly down his body, a slow reveal that sent the crowd up in whoops and whistles, leaving him in nothing but the hat and his briefs. Once he’d stepped out of the fabric pooled around his ankles, Natalie ran her hands back up his body, unwilling to quit her exploration.

Link stared Rhett down as he tossed the ball back. It bounced off one of the final rims but managed to land in another cup. He grinned again, and Rhett glared.

“Tights off, brother.”

Alyssa hadn’t taken her hands off of him since the last round, and she happily went to work on the shiny pink fabric. She made a show of having to roll the waistband over the bulge at his crotch, and she laughed when the crowd responded. Wanting to show up Natalie, Alyssa pulled the tights from his feet and then trailed kisses up the length of his body on her way back up, leaving them along his leg, at his hip, on his shoulder blade, and as high on his arm as she could reach. She wrapped her arms around his torso and splayed her palms across his chest.

“Your turn, baby.”

Rhett ignored the endearment. He found himself becoming more aware of his compromised state yet caring less about the show he was putting on. Instead, inexplicably, he couldn’t stop staring at Link’s crotch, watching for a similar reaction.

“Whatcha lookin’ at?”

Rhett blinked and returned his eyes to Link’s face. “Nothin’.”

He tossed the ball, but everything was spinning and he missed by a mile. The room erupted in cheers, and Alyssa jumped up and down and clapped her hands before settling her hands back on Rhett’s waist. She looked the crowd over, looking for encouragement as she got her fingers in the waistband of his underwear, and to the growing cheers of _“Strip! Strip! Strip!”_ she slid them to the floor.

The room howled and whistled, but Rhett held Link’s gaze. Link tipped his head to the side, his eyes narrowing in question. Then he picked up a ball and tossed it at Rhett’s side, not even trying to aim, and grinned. He needlessly downed another beer as Natalie slid his briefs down with great relish, her fingers tracing the curve of his ass as she straightened again to a stand.

Rhett didn’t register the decision to move, but suddenly he was rounding the edge of the table and looking down at his very naked best friend. He was distantly aware that Alyssa’s hands were still on him, cupping his ass and the edges of his hip bones, ghosting over his erection when she couldn’t get a reaction out of anything else, but all he saw was the way Natalie’s hands roamed Link’s body, so much more daring than she had any right to be.

“Well,” he heard Natalie speak over the noise of the crowd that was just beginning to dissipate, though some stayed to watch what would happen next. “There’s got to be some way we can make use of all this skin. Whaddya say?”

Rhett’s body flushed hot, and he opened his mouth to reply, to tell her to back off, when Alyssa pressed up on her toes toward Rhett’s ear and spoke louder than necessary.

“I’m gonna climb you like a tree, you tall-ass fucker.”

“I think you should streak.”

The voice was familiar, but Rhett couldn’t place it, not anymore. He saw Link’s eyes go distant for a moment, his knees beginning to buckle, and he reached out a hand, grabbing one of Link’s shoulders while Natalie gripped the other.

“Sam,” Alyssa huffed in annoyance, “get the fuck outta here. They’re too drunk to streak.”

“Why you so cranky, Rhett?” Link slurred. “You wanna streak wi’ me?”

“You bringin’ her?” Rhett waved his hand at Natalie’s face, and she scowled.

“Nah, man, yer...yer my...hey, man…”

“Hey what?”

“Yer my favorite.”

Rhett threw his head back and laughed, palm pressing to his chest. Link looked him over as he laughed, his face brightening with inspiration. He pulled out of Natalie’s grip and stumbled past Rhett, bending over shamelessly as he plucked the pink tights from the floor where Rhett had been standing. He reached up and tried to tie it around Rhett’s head, but his fingers tangled with the effort, and Sam stepped in with a chuckle and completed the job.

“Here ya go, Cinderella. Now y’all get outta here. Go have fun! Show off those impressive dicks to the neighborhood!” He laughed despite the girls’ scowls and protests, but Rhett and Link had already been persuaded. Link secured his top hat and whooped as he turned around and charged into the fray.

Cheers and whistles sounded through the living room as the two flew past, the seas parting before them. Someone opened the door for them, and they launched themselves down the front steps, barely staying upright as they propelled their bodies across the yard and into the street. They passed several clusters of people beneath the light of the streetlamps, every group responding with cheers and laughter as they flew past. The boys were breathless as they ran, and their laughter trailed behind them like breadcrumbs leading back to the big house that grew distant in the darkness.

When their breath finally ran out, they stopped to rest. The exertion had left the world spinning even faster than before, and Rhett leaned his forehead against a nearby tree. A contented sigh drew his attention, and he turned his head to see Link urinating against another tree, so Rhett did the same, not even bothering to use his hands to aim.

“What happened to yer hat?” Rhett whispered loudly.

“What hat?”

“Yer...ya know...the hat. Green.”

Link felt the top of his head. “Oh. Dunno.”

“Where’s the dorm?”

Link’s brow furrowed as he looked around them. Rhett began to chuckle.

“We’re lost, man.”

“We ain’t lost. C’mon.”

They stumbled down the sidewalk, greeted occasionally by a honk or cheer from a nearby car. It neither occurred to them why they were being cheered for nor that they should avoid being seen for fear of being arrested, but they made it back to their dorm without further incident.

“Why were you mad, Rhett?” Link murmured as they slowly climbed the stairs to their floor, hands clinging to the railing for security.

Rhett shrugged. “Dunno. Natalie was pretty.”

“You wanna be pretty too?”

“Wanna be...I dunno, handsome, I guess.”

Link stumbled when the last stair dumped them out onto the landing. “You _are_ handsome, brother! Look at you!”

Rhett laughed, and Link slapped a hand over his mouth to quiet him. Rhett nipped playfully at the skin of Link’s palm, and Link shoved him, giggling along.

“Quit it. M’naked, man. Y’can’t say that stuff to me when I’m naked.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

They caught a glimpse of a silhouette down the hall, a lone figure standing in the bathroom doorway with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, come to see the commotion. They shushed each other loudly as they reached their door and stumbled inside.

The light was bright when Rhett flipped it on, and Link groaned. He swayed in his place as he eyed the top bunk.

“Bed’s movin’.”

“It ain’t movin’, man; you are.”

“Can’t,” Link murmured, ducking his head to climb onto Rhett’s bottom bunk. “It’s far.”

“S’my bed, dude.”

“Too far. S’movin’”

“Y’gotta put on some underwear at least.”

Link grunted in reply, his body curled toward the wall.

“Gotta piss,” Rhett mumbled, and he stumbled back out of the room, down the hall and to the bathroom. Their neighbor was just gathering his toiletries from the counter, but he couldn’t help eyeing up the tall freshman wearing nothing but a pair of pink tights tied around his forehead. Rhett walked in a wavy arch on his way to the urinal, and Dylan averted his eyes, unwilling to witness the horrific aim he was sure Rhett was inflicting upon the already-filthy porcelain. After emptying his bladder, Rhett stumbled back out of the restroom, Dylan close behind him with his basket of toiletries in hand.

Rhett reached his room first, and Dylan couldn’t help but cast a glance into the open doorway as he passed. Rhett stood in the center of the room, gazing hopelessly at the bottom bunk. Dylan cleared his throat.

“You okay, man?”

“I can’t…”

“You can’t what?”

Rhett glanced up at the empty top bunk. “S’too high. Bed’s movin’. But I can’t…”

Dylan waited, leaning against the door frame as Rhett searched for the words in his foggy brain.

“I can’t sleep there. Link’s there.”

Dylan nodded, spotting the brunette passed out cold. “Why’re y’all naked?”

Rhett’s brow furrowed as he fought to piece the night together. He sank to the floor and sat, cross-legged, his focus still on Link’s back. “There was...beer? And girls with too many hands. And I think we were runnin’.”

Dylan rolled his eyes. “Okay, man. You alright?”

He was surprised to see Rhett’s chin begin to tremble. “I can’t sleep there. He’s just...too pretty.”

Dylan chuckled under his breath. “That so?”

“He’s just...he’s naked, and I’m...and he’s so pretty.”

Shaking his head, Dylan pushed off from the doorframe. “I gotta get to bed, man. Y’all’ll figure it out.”

“Hey!” Rhett’s voice called after him as he began to stride away. Dylan peeked back around the corner.

“Yeah?”

“Can you get the light?”

Dylan gave him a thumbs up and flipped the switch inside the doorway, pulling the door shut behind him.

Rhett sat in the darkness, his eyes slowly adjusting to the orange light filtering through the blinds. It painted stripes across Link’s back, and he noticed the way it created small shadows at the bumps of his vertebrae. With a sigh of resignation, Rhett crawled on hands and knees to his bunk. He hoisted himself up onto the mattress and pulled the thin blanket over them both. Link exhaled and smacked his lips as the bed shifted beneath them, and Rhett couldn’t help the smile that played at his mouth at the sound.

Within minutes, he was asleep.


	8. The Truth

“And that was it? You’re sure? We just...passed out?”

“Well, I can’t be _sure,”_ Dylan said, “but y’all didn’t seem to be...I dunno, _post-coital,_ as they say. And this guy,” he nodded toward Link, “was definitely dead to the world within minutes of y’all walkin’ in the door.”

“I said he was...too pretty to sleep with?” Rhett mumbled, embarrassed. Dylan laughed.

“Sure as hell did. It was hilarious and adorable. But like I said, it looks like you two’ve worked it out, so I’m gonna…” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder toward the stairwell.

“Oh, yeah, thanks, man,” Rhett waved him off. Dylan saluted them both and chuckled to himself as he moseyed away. Link watched him go, eyes wide, until he felt a tug on his hand.

“Come on, pretty boy.”

 

With the door closed behind them, Rhett leaned back against it and watched Link sink into his desk chair. They smiled shyly at each other.

“So,” Rhett said.

“So.”

“Mystery solved, I guess?”

“Seems that way.”

“How d’you feel about that?”

Link crossed an ankle over a knee and tipped his head to the side, eyeing up his friend. “Is it weird that it almost feels like a let-down? Like we spent all this time building up the fantasy of what happened just to find out nothing did?”

Rhett chuckled and shook his head. “No, that’s not weird. I get it.”

After a minute of thoughtful silence, Link stood and paced across the small room to stand in front of him. He looked him in the eye, then faltered, focusing instead on Rhett’s chest as he spoke.

“I just...all of this,” he gestured to the two of them and the room around them, “this stuff that’s happened the last couple days...it was all because we thought somethin’ already _had_ happened, y’know? Like, we might as well, ‘cause we already have. So, like…do you want a do-over? Go back to before and pretend this never happened?”

Rhett swallowed. “Do you?”

Link sighed, then lifted his hands to Rhett’s waist. He wrapped his long fingers around the narrow circumference, marveling at how they almost reached. As he gripped, he tuned his senses to Rhett. He listened to his breathing, felt the thrum of blood pumping not far beneath his palms. Finally he lifted his chin and met Rhett’s gaze.

“No.”

“Me neither,” Rhett exhaled in a rush. He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath.

The corner of Link’s mouth quirked up, and he slid his hands under Rhett’s shirt, replacing them at his waist but now directly on warm skin. He leaned in and brushed his nose along the underside of Rhett’s jaw, breath ghosting over his throat.

“You sure?” he whispered.

Rhett closed his eyes and nodded. Following Link’s lead, he slid his hands up into the back of Link’s shirt and spread his fingers, covering as much of the smooth skin as he could reach. But Link seemed committed to staying a step ahead, and he dragged his palms up Rhett’s torso, taking his t-shirt with him, until Rhett was forced to extricate his hands from Link’s back and raise his arms over his head to free the shirt. As soon as his hands were once again unhindered, he gripped the hem of Link’s shirt and did the same to him.

Being naked together was nothing new. They’d become friends long before a sense of self-consciousness over their bodies had even developed, so by the time it occurred to them to feel awkward about it, they were already past it. They’d changed together as children, swum naked under both sun and moonlight, chatted as they stripped down in locker rooms without a second thought. At a glance, their bodies held no secrets from one another.

But a gulf stood between _seeing_ and _looking_ , and a universe between _looking_ and _touching._ When Rhett’s hands ventured beneath the waistband at the back of Link’s shorts, fingers reaching low to cup the warm flesh, Link gasped against Rhett’s throat. His touch was electric, and Link’s body felt the jolt pass through him in a shockwave, sparking an involuntary thrust of his hips against Rhett’s upper thigh.

Rhett hummed, pleased with the response, and felt the electricity pass to him in the form of a low tremor. He was shivering with adrenaline, and he pressed Link’s body against his to absorb the quaking.

Link mouthed at Rhett’s throat and spoke into his skin. “You okay, brother?”

Rhett’s hands were still tucked inside the back of Link’s boxers, and he slid them around, pausing at his narrow hip bones before continuing. “I’m okay. Are you okay? Are you okay if I…”

Link nodded and tucked his forehead into Rhett’s neck. “Yeah. Do it.”

Rhett took a deep breath and slid Link’s shorts and boxers down his legs, abandoned at mid-thigh. Then he used one hand to lift Link’s chin, looking into his eyes carefully as he placed the second hand between Link’s thighs.

Link gasped when Rhett touched him. But despite the need coursing through them both, Rhett took his time. He explored, fingertips tracing the grooves and soft ridges, the hot skin thrumming for more. Through it all they held each other’s gaze, mouths open, heavy breath washing over the others’ face.

When a whimper escaped Link’s mouth, he laughed, both self-conscious and giddy with the thrill.

“What’s so funny?” Rhett whispered, grinning down at him.

“Nothin’s funny. You gonna let me touch you too or what?”

“Who’s stoppin’ you?”

Link yanked Rhett’s bottoms down with more comedic than romantic flair, and Rhett laughed.

“Such a charmer.”

“A snake charmer?”

Rhett’s laugh was cut off when Link’s fist wrapped around him, the lightness in his voice dropping into a groan. Their instinct was to stroke each other fast and frantic as they would stroke themselves, trying to get off quickly before getting caught, but as Rhett felt himself nearing the crest, he let go of Link and grabbed his fist, stopping the motion.

“Wait.”

“What do you need?”

Rhett took a few deep breaths, seeking to both calm his body and prepare his mind.

“Do you wanna...”

Link’s eyes were wide, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed in anticipation.

“I know we wanted to wait. For marriage, I mean. And we still can if you’d rather. And besides, I don’t even know if this would count. I don’t know how that works. But...I love you. And I know we’re always gonna be together, one way or another. And it’s not like we can marry each _other—”_

“—yet,” Link cut him off.

“What?”

“Who knows?”

“You would wanna marry me?”

“You askin’?”

Rhett wasn’t prepared for the laugh that burst out of him, but he didn’t have time to worry that it would hurt Link’s feelings before the other man had joined him. Their laughter fed each other, and the fact that they were naked from mid-thigh up made the situation even more funny. Link wrapped his arms around Rhett’s ribcage and pressed his face to his chest, breathing hard to regain control as Rhett’s chuckles jostled him. Finally, when he was able to, he spoke.

“I got a feelin’ that wasn’t the question you were tryin’ to ask.”

“You know what I was tryin’ to ask.”

Link looked up at him. “Spell it out for me, bo.”

Rhett whined. “I don’t know how to say it without soundin’ stupid.”

“You’re standin’ here with your pants down and you’re worried about soundin’ stupid?”

Rhett glared at him, but he couldn’t suppress the smile on his face. “Kiss me. I need it for courage.”

Link grinned and complied. He pushed up on his toes and kissed him long and slow, and he punctuated the effect by pressing their bodies together, skin and naked heat reigniting the passion that had waned slightly in conversation. He took full advantage of the invitation to inspire courage. His palms spread over Rhett’s ribs, his mouth leaving Rhett panting as he traveled on, nipping at his jawline, his earlobe, leaving a wet trail down his neck. When he felt sure that Rhett was sufficiently encouraged, he kissed him on the mouth once again.

“Okay then, McLaughlin,” he murmured against Rhett’s lips. “What was it you were tryin’ to ask me?”

“Do you wanna have butt sex with me?”

Link slugged him in the chest. “Are you freaking kidding me?! _That’s_ how you decided to say it?” Rhett was bellowing with laughter, hand pressed to his chest, partially out of habit and partially to protect himself from further blows.

Link backed out of his arms, stood in the center of the room, dropped his shorts to the floor, and kicked them to the side. He folded his arms across his chest and stared Rhett down as the man laughed, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

“You ‘bout finished?”

Rhett let the last of his giggles run out of him, then he wiped his tears as he looked his now fully naked best friend up and down.

“You are quite a sight.”

Link rolled his eyes. Then, in a mocking voice, _“You wanna have butt sex with me?”_

Rhett let out another cackle as he stepped out of his own shorts and crossed the distance between them. He wrapped his arms around Link’s shoulders and pulled him close.

“Yeah, I do,” he whispered.

“Do you even know how to do it?”

Rhett chuckled. “No. Other than the basic idea, I guess. Do you?”

Link pulled back slightly and gave him an incredulous look. _“No._ You think I’ve had sex with dudes before?”

“You asked me first, y’know.”

“Fair point.”

Rhett released him and stepped back, and they looked down at each other’s bodies, their cheeks flushing as they allowed themselves, for the first time ever, to really _look._

“I love you too, by the way,” Link’s voice broke the silence. When Rhett met his eyes, Link smiled shyly. “I just...you said it before, and I didn’t say it back. But I do. I love you. I wanted to say it before we...”

“Before we have butt sex?”

Link punched him in the chest again. “Knock it off, you jerk!”

This time Rhett cut off his own laughter by gripping Link’s face and pressing their lips together. Link melted into it instantly, the whirlwind of emotions of the previous five minutes dissolving into need and the heat of Rhett’s skin against his body. It was immediately intoxicating, and all self-consciousness evaporated.

“How’re we doin’ this?” he whispered into the dip beneath Rhett’s ear.

“I’ve got some—” Rhett grunted, momentarily distracted by Link’s hands roaming his body, then regathered himself. “I’ve got some lotion in my desk. Think that’ll work?”

“Works well enough for jerkin’ off,” Link chuckled. “But what I meant was…”

“Who’s doin’ who?”

Link nodded. “‘Cause I dunno—”

“—You can do it.”

Link pulled back and looked at him. “You mean like…”

“Yeah. You can do it. I’m...yeah. I’m okay with it.”

“You sure?”

Rhett blushed. “Yeah. I kinda...want you to.”

Link’s eyes were wide, his mouth agape. “Gosh. Fuck.”

Rhett chuckled. “That’s not like you.”

Link shook his head in wonderment. “I just...you’re really gonna let me do this? You’re gonna let me...put my…”

Rhett laughed louder. “Will you shut up and get on with it?”

Link snapped to attention. “Yes. Yeah, okay. Where’s your lotion?”

“Top drawer on the right.”

As Link rummaged into his desk, Rhett grabbed his bath towel from where it hung on a nearby hook, spread it on the floor, and sat, perching on his knees and sitting back on his heels, palms resting on his thighs. When Link turned with bottle in hand, his eyes widened again.

“We doin’ this right here? Not in the bed?”

“You think we can pull this off in that tiny space, not knowin’ a lick about what we’re doin’?”

Link conceded the point and joined him on the floor. He looked at the bottle in his hand helplessly.

“I have no freaking idea what I’m supposed to do.”

“Well, I guess I’ll just…” Rhett turned around and lifted up on hands and knees. “Does this work?”

“I think so. Are you okay?”

“I ain’t got a dick in me yet, but yeah, I’m okay.”

Link chuckled. “Okay, okay, hold yer horses.” He popped open the bottle, squirted a glob into his hand, and began to slick himself up. Then he took a good look at his destination. With one hand laid carefully on the small of Rhett’s back, he slid the middle finger of his other, still-slippery hand between Rhett’s cheeks and found the tight ring of muscle there.

“You’re sure about this?”

“You can stop askin’ me that, man. I’ve thought a lot about this. I’m sure.”

Link stopped his motion. “You have?”

Rhett looked back over his shoulder. “Well, not a whole lot before this weekend. In passing, maybe. But since yesterday morning...yeah. A lot. I been wantin’ to do it just like this, so stop worryin’.”

With a steadying breath, Link pressed the tip of his finger into Rhett’s entrance. Rhett tensed slightly for a moment, but the sensation passed, and he nodded. Link pressed further, and Rhett nodded without a pause, urging him to press all the way in.

“How’s that?” Link asked.

Rhett exhaled. “It’s good, man. I like it.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, shut up, I do. I’m ready.”

“Okay,” Link exhaled. He applied another dollop of lotion to both his own body and Rhett’s, for good measure, before lining himself up. “I’m gonna go slow, and we can stop anytime you want. Just say the word and we’re done. Okay? Don’t worry about me. I can finish on my own if you need to stop. Deal?”

Rhett nodded. “Yeah, deal. I’m ready.”

Link pressed just the tip inside, and Rhett instantly tensed again. He breathed hard through the sting, focusing on trying to relax, trying to enjoy it, and Link waited.

“You okay? You alright, man?”

Rhett just kept breathing, eyes pressed shut, and finally he nodded. “I’m okay. Just...go slow. Really slow.”

Link pressed forward as slowly as he could, a centimeter at a time, his eyes trained on the side of Rhett’s face, the sound of his breath, every twitch of his muscles. Each time he tensed again, Link stopped and waited for him to relax and nod. Almost five minutes passed, but finally he was pressed all the way inside.

“Keep goin’,” Rhett grunted.

“Can’t. That’s all of it.”

Rhett’s eyes opened wide, and he turned and looked over his shoulder again.

“You’re all the way in?”

Link’s grin beamed. “Yeah. I’m fuckin’ you, man. Look at us.”

Rhett laughed out loud, and Link joined him, dissolving into giggles and collapsing onto Rhett’s back, still fully enveloped by his body. It was like no porn they’d ever watched, no fantasy they’d ever imagined, but it was the only way it ever could have happened. They had been laughing when they’d become friends, and of course they were laughing now, in the moment they became lovers. They would probably die laughing, side-by-side.

Suddenly the jostling their laughter produced hit a nerve inside Rhett’s body, and he gasped, silencing them both.

“Are you okay, man? Did I hurt you?”

It washed over Rhett like a tidal wave, that burst of pleasure underscoring the realness of the moment. He felt it all at once—the fullness of Link’s erection inside him, the press of hot skin against Rhett’s back, the scent of their sweat and desire. He didn’t know if it was acclimation to the stretch or the endorphins their laughter had produced, but the pain had left him, and all he felt was blinding need and arousal. In the absence of being able to look Link full in the eye, he reached a hand back, scrambling until Link grasped it, squeezed it in question and concern.

“It feels...oh gosh, it’s good. I’m ready. Fuck me like you mean it.”

Link meant it. Rhett’s words had hit him like a freight train, and he began to thrust, pressing into Rhett’s body, chasing his pleasure. He never knew it could feel so good, so much tighter and hotter than anything he’d been able to conjure in his imagination. He reveled in the sound of their breath, the grunts and groans, the perfect tension building. He knew it wouldn’t take them long.

“I’m gonna come, Rhett,” he gasped. “Holy crap, I’m gonna come inside you. Oh my god, holy shit, dude. I’m coming!”

Link couldn’t see through the white hot haze that filled his vision. He was distantly aware of his hands gripping Rhett’s hips, slamming their bodies together, the shameless sounds he was pressing from Rhett’s lungs. But it was all backdrop to the symphony of his euphoria, brought about by the body of the only person he’d ever truly loved.

On the tail of his orgasm, Link leaned forward, draping himself fully over Rhett’s back and reaching around to take hold of him.

“Your turn, baby,” he whispered. “Come on, now.”

Rhett bucked back against him, seeking what friction Link still had to offer despite his own body’s softening, though Link made up for it with the touch of his hand and the words murmured into the damp nape of Rhett’s neck. It was the whisper that did him in, that voice he’d always known now turned low and seductive.

“Oh gosh, Link!” he groaned as he came, and Link kissed stripes across his shoulder blades, whispering encouragements as Rhett rode his climax to its end.

 

They lay together on the floor, curled into one another’s bodies, for a long time. Link’s arm was wrapped around Rhett’s middle, occasionally swirling into his sparse chest or belly hair, which Rhett swatted playfully away. He pressed lazy kisses to his shoulders and the back of his neck. Rhett traced the lines in Link’s knuckles with his fingertips.

“What happens now?”

It was Rhett who broke the silence. Link kissed his shoulder once more before answering.

“I don’t want this to be the last time.”

Rhett turned his head to see Link’s face. “You worried it will be?”

“I just...I’m worried it’s gonna get complicated now.”

“It might.”

“Is there a ‘but’?”

Rhett bumped his rear back against Link’s pelvis, and Link rolled his eyes. Then he lowered his head and rested his cheek against Rhett’s arm.

“I’m just scared I’m gonna lose you.”

Rhett turned the rest of the way, facing Link fully. “Why would you lose me?”

“Because either we never do anything like this again, we carry on in secret, or we tell everyone the truth. And I feel like any one of those things has the potential to break us.”

Rhett’s brow furrowed. “That’s a crappy thing to say.”

“I’m sorry, man; I’m just scared.”

Rhett wrapped his arms around Link’s shoulders and pulled him in tight. “You’re being an idiot. You know us better than that.”

Link nodded against his chest. “I know.”

“We’re unbreakable.”

“I know.”

“I’m in if you are.”

Link pulled back to look up at him. “What do you mean?”

“All in. I love you. I’m all in. It’s not gonna break us.”

Link smiled. “I know.”

“So we’re doin’ this? We’re like...a thing? A public thing? We’re tellin’ the world?”

Link kissed him. “Nothin’ better than the truth.”


End file.
